Hurricane and Shadow
by Emma Samari
Summary: In the old days of the organization two warriors were created, who grew up to be one of the most powerful warriors of all time. But their story became a legend and legends fade far too often into oblivion.
1. Introduction

Hi and thanks for deciding to try my fan fiction!

I hope you will enjoy it!

This story is going to be about two OC's in the world of the manga/anime "Claymore". I've seen the anime and I have read through all the chapters of the manga, so I know what I'm writing about.

And that also means there will be some spoilers in it. So don't read it if you haven't got far in actual story yet.

The plot is set in the first generation of Claymores were male warriors were created. I started writing this fan fiction before the extra scene with Isley, Rigaldo etc. was published and I was already too far to write everything again. So this is only my interpretation of the 1st generation of claymores.

And at last: **I don't own Claymore!**


	2. Survivors

My name is _Hurrican Nila_.

I'm the second female warrior ever created by the organisation.

I was a warrior during the first Generation of Claymores when male warriors were still created and I held the rank of 4.

And even though I was stronger than the Number One of that time I was never even close to become the Number One. That spot has always been like a dream to me. And sometimes a nightmare. But I was happy being the Number 4 and honestly I never thought that ranks are that important.

If you are interested I will tell you my story.

How I became a warrior and how I finally broke free of the chains of the organisation.

But I will tell you one thing right away:

My story is the story of a monster…

* * *

It was silent. Not a single sound disturbed the silence of the Night. In the faint moonlight the ruins of a town shone. Blood covered the ground and painted the few standing walls crimson red. Corpses. Everywhere Corpses! Their bellies had been ripped open and their guts had been eaten. Men, women, and children not a single one had been spared. Nearly no one.

A young girl stood trembling in front of some corpses. Her dark blond, curly hair was messy and her grey eyes were widened in fear. The girl was covered in blood. She was crying, but she was too afraid to scream. Nearly too afraid to even breathe. Why? Why did everyone have to die? Why did the monster eat their guts? Why? Why couldn't it have killed her as well? Why didn't it find her? Why couldn't she be dead too? Her parents, her grandparents lay in front of her, but most of her body parts were gone or ripped into little shreds. Their blood covered her body. Trembling she fell on her knees. She was alone. Nothing was left of her family or of her life. Everything had been destroyed within a few seconds.

Then there was a sound. Someone was sobbing. Silently but the girl could still hear it. She walked to the place where the sound came from. Suddenly she saw a second girl kneeling beside the dead bodies of her family. Her hair was short and red. And her frail body was trembling too. She knew her. Her name was…Elisha. A girl that was as old as her. She lived close to her house…She had lived close to her house. Slowly she approached her. "E…lisha?" the girl whispered.

The red haired girl turned her head. "My…my parents…my sisters…they're dead. All dead" she answered and tears were running down her cheeks "I wasn't fast enough! I couldn't run fast enough and because of that the monster got us! It's my fault! My fault!" The blond girl kneeled down and hugged her. She was crying too. She was thinking the same thing as Elisha. It was her fault! She hadn't been strong enough to protect her family. She was so weak. So absolutely useless!

"Ni…Nila…" Elisha suddenly whispered terrified and pointed behind her. Nila turned around and saw the monster that had killed everyone. It was a huge creature with sharp spikes covering its whole body. Its skin was pale and greyish. Its hands and its face were covered in blood. It was drooling. So they would die as well. They would be ripped apart and their guts would be eaten. Nila clung to Elisha. She was so afraid! So afraid of dying! So afraid of this monster! Even though she was useless she didn't want to die. Even though she might deserved this death she wanted to stay alive.

And in the second when the creature jumped forward, Nila closed her eyes. At least she wouldn't see her death. A spilt second after that she felt show she was again covered in liquid.

The girl opened her again and saw the huge monster lying in front of her. Headless. Nila was covered in purple blood. It was sticky and warm. "How…how…" she stuttered. Then Elisha whispered horrified "He…killed it. With a…single blow…He just chopped of its head." Now Nila saw the man. He was in his early twenties and quite tall. He wore silver armour. He was holding a big and broad sword that was covered in purple blood. He had blond hair that nearly touched his shoulders. Then he turned around. Frightened Nila looked into his eyes. The silver eyes of a Claymore.


	3. Promise

**Promise**

* * *

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP THAT! I DON'T WANT TO BE A MONSTER!" Nila screamed. She was tied to a table. A meter away Elisha was in the same situation, but…some men dressed in black clothing had cut her stomach open. Nila saw blood. Elisha's blood. Then she saw how a man brought a piece of green and purple flesh. With horror she realised that they wanted to put that into Elisha.

Those men had found them shortly after the Claymore had killed the monster. They had dragged them to a place they called "Headquarters" and had said to them that they would make warriors out of them. Nila and Elisha had tried to resist, but it had been useless. They had brought them here and were now making them into half-Yoma half-human monsters.

Now she felt how someone cut her belly open. She screamed in pain. "I'M NOT A BOY! I CAN'T BE A CLAYMORE! STOP IT! PLEASE!" But there was no reaction from those men. Like she wasn't even there. Then she saw the piece of flesh that was meant for her. Nila tried to move. Tried to break free. Why was she so weak? Why was she always so damn weak? "NO!" she screamed, but it was useless. She could only watch how the men brought the flesh to her table and then…

Her body met the purple flesh of the Yoma. A burning spread from her stomach to the rest of her body.

What was that? What the hell was that? This pain was unbearable! With terrible intensity she felt how this flesh became a part of her. How her veins spread through. How a connection was made. Muscles and fibres grew into this Yoma meat and bound it to her body. Nila felt how blood that wasn't hers spread through her veins. It felt so disgusting! Like someone was rummaging around in her body.

And then for a moment she felt an incredible hunger. Only for a second she wanted to rip those men into shreds and devour their guts. She wanted to bathe in their blood and to hear their screams while she was slowly eating every ounce of their flesh. Then this moment was gone.

She wanted to stop it! To stop this mutation, but she wasn't able to. Again she was too weak. _Why can't I be stronger? Why can't I be strong enough to fight back? Why can't I be stronger than all of them?_

Elisha next to her didn't scream. She didn't make a sound at all. She was just crying. Silently enduring the pain. But she was thinking exactly the same as Nila.

Nila lost consciousness and woke up again for a few times in the next hours. She couldn't remember how and when she got there, but she woke up in dark cell. Her body was hurting! It was hurting so much! Again she started to cry, but she wasn't able to scream. Trembling she crawled from the middle of the cell to the wall. She leaned against it. The cool stone helped to soothe the pain a little bit. She groaned.

"It hurts so much!" Elisha sobbed. Now Nila realised that she wasn't alone. Elisha was lying on the ground a few meters to her right. She crawled to her. Her eyes were closed. Tears were running down her cheeks. When Nila could see the details of Elisha's face, she flinched. Her fiery red hair was now light blond. Like straw. Her skin was ivory-coloured, although her features were still soft. But her ears…were pointed. Like the ears of the elves she had seen in a fairy tale book. _She looks like a doll! _Nila thought with wide opened eyes.

Then Elisha opened her eyes. Her silver eyes. The green colour had just vanished. "Elisha, you have sil…silver eyes" Nila whispered. The girl starred at her and said "So have you!" Shocked she looked at herself. She could see her long curly hair that was now platinum blond, almost white and her skin was even paler than Elisha's. She touched her ears. They weren't pointed. She sighed a bit relieved.

"You…look…so differently" Elisha said amazed.

"So do you. But…but…but you look pretty, not like a monster" Nila replied and tried to smile.

Elisha tried to sit up. "Thank…you. You don't look like a monster too. I…like your hair. It's so…shiny."

Nila now really smiled. "Thanks! I like your skin. It looks like porcelain."

Elisha blushed. "You are only flattering me" she whispered.

Nila shook her head. "No, I meant that." Suddenly she touched her stomach and groaned. "It's so painful!"

Elisha moved closer to her and wrapped her arms around the pale girl. "I know. Why did they do this to us? We aren't boys. We can't be warriors."

Nila clenched her fist. Yeah, why had they done this to them? Maybe because they liked to see someone suffer or because this was some kind of sick experiment?

Suddenly it occurred to her. "But…if we have those silver eyes…can't we be as strong as those other Claymores?"

"You mean if we can become warriors like them?" She looked at her curious.

"Why not? If they did this to us, then we should be able to become strong. As strong as them. The gender can't be important. Not when it comes to monsters. Don't you…don't you want to kill those monsters? Don't you want to be able to kill them? To slice them into little pieces like they did…with all the people?" A tear was running down Nila's cheek.

Elisha looked at the ground. "Yes. I want to kill those monsters. Those damn Yoma! I want revenge!"

Nila understood her anger and hatred perfectly. "So let's make a promise! We become warriors together! We will become strong and kill the monsters that are to blame for all this!" She looked at her Elisha determined. The short haired girl looked for a while at the wall. Then she answered "Alright. We will get through this! Together!"

Nila nodded and hugged Elisha a bit tighter. "Together!"


	4. 6 years later

**6 years later**

* * *

The metallic sound of clashing swords filled the air. Two trainees were fighting with training claymores. One of them was a boy with short light blond hair. His skin was quite pale even for a half-Yoma trainee. His features were sharp. He frowned and tried to put more strength into his blows, but that was useless. His opponent was far too fast for him. The girl with long hair that she wore as a high ponytail dodged his attacks without putting much effort into it. It was quite obvious that her superior speed outmatched him by far. Sometimes she even disappeared from his vision. Then their swords clashed together again, but one of the training claymores fell to the ground a few meters away.

The girl with the ponytail held her sword to the boy's throat. He just starred at her. Her look was a bit listless, like she was looking right through him. "It seems that I am victorious" she said. The girl closed her eyes, mad a step backward and lowered the sword. "Dammit!" he hissed angry. A boy behind them laughed. "Hey, Andrew how does it feel to lose against a girl?" the tall one teased. "Shut up, Anthony! I just have a bad day!" Andrew answered and looked angry at him.

"Forgive my rudeness, but during our entire fight you didn't even stand a chance against me. Your blows were too weak and clumsy not to mention your lack of speed. If this had been a real battle your head would have come off in the first few minutes. Your comment that you have a bad day is no excuse for your incapability to wield a sword properly." They looked surprised at the girl with the ponytail. She looked at them with her cold silver eyes. Before Andrew could respond, Anthony burst out laughing.

"This chick doesn't beat around the bush. Well, she's got a point. She kicked your butt."

"Just shut up! No one wants to hear your shit!" Andrew was close to punch him in the face and most likely to break his nose while doing that.

"Oh, come on, don't be so easily upset! Next time you'll win" Anthony replied to calm him down.

"Highly unlikely" the girl answered. Anthony grinned. Andrew just clenched his fist, but didn't say anything. Now matter how much she pissed him off, he couldn't win against her. She was too fast! Sometimes he couldn't even see her! She was the fastest among all trainees. And not enough she was also quite strong. This girl…Elisha was too strong for him. Too strong for nearly everyone. Anthony was just acting so cocky, because she had beaten him just yesterday. He still had the bruise.

Anthony chuckled. Then the tall blond boy made a step forward and raised his sword. "Okay, let's continue our battle from yesterday." But instead of preparing herself Elisha answered, "I am sorry, but I don't have time for another round. I still have some other duties. If you excuse me, I have to go." And without saying another word she left.

"Shit! What was that about? I wanted to fight her!" Anthony growled.

"So you wanted to lose again?" Andrew said grinning.

"You think you're pretty funny, don't you?" he answered. He sighed and ran his fingers through his long blond hair. "Doesn't look like I'm going fight against someone interesting. I guess I have to fight against you instead, Andrew. This is going to be entertaining."

"You are going down!" Andrew answered, while raising his sword.

"Sorry, but before you chop of his head, Anthony, I would like to test your strength" a cheerful voice said behind him. Again it was a girl. But she had two pigtails and she was paler than Elisha. Also her expression was different. While Elisha always looked distant and cold this girl looked exhilarated.

Both knew who she was. Her name was Nila. The other one of the two only girls within the organisation and the creepiest of all trainees. She was always in a good mood and had quite a loose mouth. She was like most of the male trainees. Loud and cocky, but unlike the other ones she had the necessary power to be like that. There hadn't been a single occasion where she would have lost a fight. Nila had never been even close to losing. Her asset wasn't speed and agility like Elisha, although she was everything but slow.

Nila's forte was her physical strength and her superb swordsmanship. Not even the strongest ones amongst the trainees could parry one of her blows. She evaded their attacks nearly as fast as Elisha but with more style. Every move she made was proving her supremacy and she was well aware of that. It wasn't like that Nila would have been far stronger than Elisha. They were quite evenly matched, but Nila wasn't the most modest person. Although you couldn't say that she was arrogant. Everything she said about herself and Elisha was true, but that fact pissed the other trainees even more off.

But even though she was always quite cheerful and most of the time friendly everyone considered her to be quite creepy, mostly because she could use more than 30 percent Yoki without awakening. In fact both, Nila and Elisha, could do that, but Elisha didn't talk about it, while Nila did quite openly. The other trainees found it very strange that someone was able to resist the ecstasy of the Yoki-release on that level and avoided her because of that. Well, actually they avoided both of them. Nila and Elisha were strange…and frightening.

"So?" she asked with a bright smile on her face "Do you want to fight now? You wanted to fight against someone interesting and well, I'm a good replacement for Elisha."

Anthony hesitated. When it came to training fights everyone preferred Elisha. She wasn't as creepy as Nila. But eventually he raised his sword. "I hope I won't hurt you, girly."

She smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about me."

Then she leaped forward and their swords met. Emitting sparks Nila's and Anthony's claymores clashed together over and over again. While Anthony tried to parry one of her blows, Nila said smiling "Well, you are quite strong, but "quite strong" is not enough against me." Suddenly Anthony got blown away. He stumbled but didn't fall. A second later Nila appeared behind him and with more luck than capability he was able to meet her blow.

"Oh? How fast you are! Didn't expect that. You've improved quite a bit! Looks like I can speed up" Nila stated. Now her sword strikes came faster than before and Anthony barely managed to defend himself. Then abruptly Anthony got kicked into the stomach. He fell to the ground and before he could do anything, he felt how the cold metal of a claymore touched his throat. "Looks like I won!" she said grinning "This was fun! Really I enjoyed it. And you are really far better than the last time."

She moved the training sword away. Anthony growled. Again beaten by a girl. And not enough she had beaten him in front of Andrew. This was so damn embarrassing! Then he noticed that Nila was looking at Andrew with a strange expression. She frowned. "What's wrong?" Anthony asked.

"Hey, Andrew. Are you alright? You don't look so well" Nila asked.

"What? I'm okay. Why do you care anyway?"

"Just a question. You look a bit sickly." She jerked her shoulders, but the somehow concerned look didn't vanish.

"Elisha kicked his butt earlier. Maybe that's why you think he's pale…paler than usual" Anthony replied.

Nila didn't answer. Then she said "Got to go. I promised Elisha to fight with her. Bye!" She walked away.

"Dammit! They're always like that. First they appear out of nowhere. Then they kick our asses and right after that they disappear. Bitches! They behave like they would be already warriors!" Andrew said angry.

"Not too far away from the truth, if you ask me" Anthony answered "The only thing that parts them from receiving their emblems is the last test. And I don't think they will screw this up."

"Not you too! Why does everyone think that they are such great fighters?"

Anthony shook his head. "Please tell me that you only act so stupid!"

"What?"

"Oh come on! Those two girls just defeated us without even taking us seriously! They are stronger than everyone in our class. I don't want to know what they are capable of doing when they get serious."

"…Monsters. That's what they are!"

"Well…I guess you're right."

…

"Nila, is this another one of intuitions?" Elisha asked sighing while she parrying Nila's sword strikes like it was the most casual thing in the world.

"It's not an intuition!" she answered insistent, while dodging "I told you a million times that I can sense something like that. Remember Sergei? Or Richard? It happened shortly after I told you so."

"I don't think that proves it" Elisha replied and parried Nila's blow.

"Yes, it does! I can sense it! I can read it in the flow of his Yoki! He will awaken the next time he uses his Yoki! He won't be able to resist the rush. He is going to awaken very soon!" Her strike nearly cut Elisha's hair.

"Okay, let's assume that you are right and you really can sense something like that, what are you going to do?" She leaped to the side.

"I don't know. I just told you so you would stay away from him. He's dangerous" Nila blocked Elisha's sword "No more training fights! He could awaken all of a sudden!"

The girl with the ponytail rolled her eyes and evaded on of her partners attacks. "So do you know the personal limit of every warrior?"

"Yeah, of most of them. Anthony for example could go to 25 percent maybe a bit higher. And Raphael could release 30 percent of his Yoki." Again their claymores clashed together.

"And what about me? How far can I go?" Elisha asked, while trying to push Nila back.

"Please! We tried it together how far we can go. You know your limit well enough. …But if you want to know you can go further than me. My limit is at 80 percent. Tops. And yours…is extraordinary high."

"Extraordinary?" Elisha raised her eyebrows. Nila nodded then she pushed Elisha back and started to attack her faster. Her opponent met her blows with the same speed.

"Of how high are we talking about?"

"You felt it yourself. Your body it had changed so…dramatically, but yet you came back so easily. I don't know if I'm correct, but I would say your limit is at…well, it's above 80." Nila turned her face away, but was still able to defend herself.

Neither of them needed her eyes to fight. They had developed a special skill to accomplish that. They read the flow of the Yoki in the opponent's brain. It was more precise than reading it directly in the body, but they had to synchronise their Yoki to a certain extent and it was harder to read it in the brain than in the other body parts. However this technique had a major advantage. No matter how much someone suppressed his Yoki-aura, even if they took suppressant pills the delicate Yoki flow in the brain couldn't be hidden. And because of that fact both had trained for years to bring that skill to perfection.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't" Elisha replied parrying Nila's sword "But do you seriously think that Andrew is going to awaken the next time he uses his Yoki? Even if it's just 10 percent?"

"I'm absolutely sure. He won't be able to resist even if he doesn't go close to his limit. I can feel it!" she replied and evaded Elisha's strikes.

"Do you…do you think he will be like Sergei and Richard? That he will have the courage to kill himself?" Her look was concerned.

"I don't know him well enough for that. I mean he seems somehow nice, but he's quite hot-tempered. Anthony and Raphael would end their lives without even flinching. I'm sure about that. However…Andrew is not like them. Anthony could know that. Maybe we should ask…"

"Yeah, that would work! Hey Anthony! Your best friend is going to turn into a monster and you can't do anything about it. Would you be so kind to tell us if he has the guts to kill himself or if we have to help him out?" Elisha replied sarcastically.

"You're right. Sounds a bit stupid." Their swords clashed together. Nila sighed. "Looks like we have to avoid him for the next time. We can't warn the others, but trainees awaken all the time. It's no big deal."

Elisha nodded. "We're not getting anywhere here. Like always our training fight ends in a draw."

Nila tilted her head and smiled. "Yeah, like always!"

Both lowered their swords simultaneously. Nila put the Claymore away and lay down. "You should have seen Anthony's face when I beat him. That was quite funny!"

"I saw Andrew's when I defeated him. That was enough."

"I'd love to see Raphael's expression when he gets beaten, but he refuses to fight with us."

"You know he can sense Yoki far better than the other two. He knows how much stronger we are. Nila, you know him. He never fights pointless battles."

"Every training fight is pointless. He just doesn't want that I humiliate him in front of the others. He's a coward if you ask me."

"Raphael knows his limits and he knows that no matter how hard he tries he won't be able to win against us."

Nila jerked her shoulders. "Whatever."

"Our final exam is in two days" Elisha stated.

"Great! I can't wait to get out of here. There are too many people in the headquarters."

"It is said that only a few survive this test."

"And? It's not like there would be a trainee that could defeat us."

"What about Yoma? It wouldn't be surprising if we would encounter Yomas during our exam."

"Elisha, it is our purpose to kill Yoma. We are faster, stronger and have more Yoki-power than any Yoma! Plus they won't even get the moment of surprise if we should fight against them. Our Yoki-reading skills are far too superb."

"You are right. Still…I don't trust our handlers. They don't care if we live or die."

"Well, no one ever denied that they don't give a fuck about us. And no one asked you to trust them anyway."

Elisha sat down. Her face was clear of emotions. Like most of the time. "I'm not so worried about us, but I'm worried about Anthony, Raphael and Andrew. After all they are our classmates and I want them to become our fellow warriors."

"Don't worry they will make it. …Excluding Andrew."

"I'm still not convinced that you can sense something like that. Foreseeing an Awakening of a warrior sounds a bit too odd."

"Says the one who can turn invisible." Nila smirked. She loved teasing Elisha about her special technique she had developed over the years.

"I don't turn invisible! My whole body vibrates so fast that the naked eye can't see me anymore. I told you a million times that I'm not invisible! I just disappear from your field of vision. And till now I only managed to do it halfway. You can still see my silhouette."

"You look like a shadow, while doing it."

"But soon no one will be able see me!"

"Like you would need that. You're so fast that you already disappear from my field of vision."

"Still…I think it's quite convenient for a battle."

"Never denied that. But you need a good name for your technique."

"…"

"Hey, maybe you will even get a cool nickname. You know a nickname like _Steve of the Blood Eyes_ or _Max of the Grinningblade_."

"Perhaps. …I think I will refer to my technique with the name "Shadow Move". Sounds fitting, I suppose."

"Yeah, the name suits your technique. "Shadow Move" has a nice sound."

"Glad you like it."

"Elisha of the Shadow Move…No, that's not quite it. Hmm…Don't worry I nearly got it. How about…_Shadow Elisha_? Sounds awesome, doesn't it?"

Elisha tilted her head. "You mean as my nickname? …Shadow Elisha has a nice ring to it, but doesn't the Organisation give the warriors their nicknames?"

"No, not everyone. For example _Niel the Crying_ got his name from his fellow warriors, because he cries for his fallen comrades after an Awakened Being hunt. And the _Indestructible Cleo_ named himself like that, because of his superb healing abilities."

"Where do you get to know this stuff?"

Nila blushed. "I have my reliable sources."

"Please don't tell me you "bought" those informations."

"Of course not! Why the hell do you think that? I spied on some of the warriors who were summoned by the organisation for a briefing or something. Men are such chatterboxes! They were talking about everything. By the way one of the single digits awakened. The former Number 8."

"That is indeed quite interesting."

"…"

"I didn't want to offend you. It was just a question."

"I would never do somethin' like that!"

"I know I know. Forgive my inappropriate and unthoughtful question."

"Yeah, you better be sorry. I might be a bit more open to those things than you, but I have a clear border. Besides they think I'm a monster. They wouldn't touch me anyway."

"Oh…That doesn't bother you? That they call you monster?" Elisha looked a bit worried but also curious.

"Why should I? Most of them are only envious of my skills. Few might really believe that my heart belongs to the Yoma-side, but I just don't care. They can call me whatever they want to. Don't give a fuck." Nila closed her eyes and grinned. "Besides they will regret it as soon as we become single digits."

"Nila! We might be stronger than every other trainee, but that doesn't mean we are strong enough to become single digits!"

"Elisha, every single digit started as a particular strong trainee. And with discipline and training you can also become quite strong. It's not like I want to be the next Number One I just want to be a single digit! I don't want to be ranked in the forties just because I'm a girl."

"Okay, that sounds like a reasonable ambition. But make one step after another. First we have to become ranked warriors."

"You're right. The next thing is receiving our emblems. But I don't worry about that too much."

Elisha sighed and rolled her eyes. "You never ever worry about anything, Nila! For you everything is easy and never a big challenge."

"May I remind you that that also counts for you?"

"But I'm not so laidback and lazy!"

"Hey, I'm not lazy. I train every day for countless of hours. I just don't feel the need to act all serious just because it would fit better for a warrior."

"Alright I'm sorry! I know you're not lazy. It's just that your work attitude isn't the best."

"Pfft…Work attitude! What's wrong about that I want to have fun while slaying Yoma?"

"Nothing. Let's get some rest before our next lesson."

"Aww…but I slept an hour just yesterday!"

"Gods, Nila! I never said anything about sleeping. Just get some rest."

"Okay, Captain!"

"You're impossible!"


	5. Final Exam

**Final Exam**

* * *

"Those damn bastards! 'There's a Yoma for each one of you. Get rid of them and stay alive!'" Nila quoted angrily "Either the men of the organisation can't count or they wanted to see a bloodbath!" Then her sword moved through the chest of the second Yoma that tried to take her head. Her claymore was stained by violet blood. "There are five trainees here, but there are fifteen Yoma. This can't be a coincidence."

Angry she sliced the third Yoma into two parts. Purple blood gushed from the cadaver. Nila never would have thought that slaying Yoma was this easy. Those monsters were so slow and so pitiful weak. She would have expected them to be more powerful, but honestly fighting against Anthony was more challenging. Plus reading their Yoki-flow in their brains was much easier than reading it in the brain of a trainee.

She sensed that Elisha had killed three Yomas too. Her friend was about sixty meters away and had obviously no problem with fighting against those monsters. "That means that there are nine left…" she said to herself. Then she turned her head to the east. Raphael had just slain a Yoma. "_Eight left…_" Nila thought "_Raphael is quite capable of sensing Yoki. He should know what's going on._"

"There you are, Claymore!" a monstrous voice said behind her. Nila didn't turn around. She had sensed it coming. She closed her eyes. "_It will try to hit you with its fingers. Evade and then chop off its head_" the trainee thought. But before the Yoma could even move she was behind it and said "Sorry, but right now I don't feel like playing games." Then her arm moved with terrible speed and Nila cut the Yoma into little pieces. "Now there're only seven Yoma le…six…five Yoma left" she was saying, while she was sensing how Elisha and Anthony killed their targets.

"_Andrew hasn't killed one till now. He hasn't even fought against one. Maybe he has trouble finding a Yoma_" Nila thought. She moved towards her classmates. "They are still five left" Nila commented silently while she was walking through the ruins of an empty town. She could smell dust and the bitter smell of the Yomas' Yoki. It made her feel a bit sick. "_I wonder how this town was destroyed. There's nothing left but a few ruins. Looks like an Awakened Being had its fun with this town_" she thought.

Suddenly a Yoma leaped from a rooftop. It hit the ground and thought that it had killed its target, but below it there wasn't the corpse of a trainee. Just the dirty ground.

"Goddesses, I really thought that your kind would be stronger. It's quite hard to believe that I was ever afraid of you. Yomas are weak. So pitiful weak!" Nila said with her cold voice "And you are not even smart or something like that. If you would have been, you had sensed that attacking me is a big mistake." She stood on the rooftop, five meters above the Yoma. The monster jumped towards her. It was roaring. Nila looked into the yellow eyes of the monster. Its ugly, muscular body was tense. She could hear how its muscles and its skin stretched. It was preparing its killing blow. Everything about it was disgusting!

Suddenly purple blood gushed. Shocked the Yoma saw that the half of its body was missing. Nila had within a few seconds cut it into little shreds. Then the lifeless monster fell down.

The blond girl shook her head. "And now there are only four Yomas left."

A minute later Raphael slew his second Yoma. "_Three._" Nila counted in her head. She headed towards the former market place. She could sense that the last three Yomas were there and that Andrew, Anthony and Raphael fought against them. Nila frowned. She was worried about Andrew. She had been feeling it for the last two days. He was going to awaken and right now he was using 5 percent of his Yoki. That wasn't much. That didn't even change the colour of his eyes, but she was absolutely sure that he wouldn't be able to resist the ecstasy of the Yoki-release.

"Please, let me be wrong this time! Just this once!"

Finally Andrew killed his first Yoma. They were only two monsters left. Now only one. Raphael had just sliced right through one. "I could kill the last one" Nila said silently and she was already at the market place, when she saw how her best friend cut the last Yoma down. Or rather sensed it. The girl with the ponytail had moved so fast, that she barely had seen it.

"No fair, Elisha! That one was mine!" Nila said grinning.

"Sorry, but you were too slow" Elisha replied. With a fast sword strike she removed the purple blood off the claymore. "Besides now we both killed the same number of Yoma. I couldn't let you kill six. You would have never stopped talking about how great you were in your final exam."

Nila smirked. "You're probably right."

"Why the hell were there so many? I thought one for each of us" Anthony said angry.

"They said that this would be a real battle situation. In a real fight you cannot just rely on given information" Raphael replied. The rather small trainee was covered in purple blood. His short ponytail had opened and his silver blond hair fell into his face.

"Still fifteen instead of five?" Anthony asked, while he raised his eyebrows. He was thinking the same thing as Nila. That couldn't have been a mistake. They had done this on purpose. "Well, they are all dead now and we all killed one. So we made it" Nila stated.

"Yeah, next stop: Receiving our emble…" but before Anthony could finish his sentence, Nila grabbed him and threw him behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Shit! He lost it!" Nila hissed and starred at Andrew. Now the others sensed it two. Andrew's eyes were golden and his body was strangely pulsating. Veins disfigured his face. He had crossed his limit. That was obvious. Yet…he was fighting it. Trying to stop the Yoki-flow. That was remarkable. Not many trainees had a strong enough will to try to stop the awakening. Most of them awakened within a few seconds. Andrew was breathing heavily. He wouldn't be able to hold it back for much longer.

"But…but…he didn't use his Yoki during our fight!" Anthony stuttered "Not even his eyes changed!"

"That doesn't matter! He couldn't resist the rush even at this low level. He is going to awaken in the next minutes! Or the next seconds if he can't hold it back any longer" Nila said tense. She stood in front of the other four, like she wanted to protect them from the danger. Her own body was trembling. She could sense it. If he would awaken they all would be killed within a few seconds. Nila bit her lip. Was there nothing they could do?

"And what are we going to do? An Awakened Being is an opponent that cannot be defeated by us. Not even most of the single digits are capable of slaying one alone" Raphael replied.

Suddenly Elisha's eyes widened. "Nila, you…" The girl with the pigtails had a determined look on her face and she held her sword tightly.

Then they felt how the Yoki-aura of Andrew exploded and the trainees saw a bright blue light. "Shit!" Anthony yelled and tried to not to get blown away. Raphael had also problems to withstand the strong wind. Only Elisha was able to stand normal. But in her eyes they could see sadness. Like she saw something that broke her heart. Then for a split second they heard a cry. It sounded metallic and not human.

Abruptly the flow stopped and the light vanished. "What happened?" Anthony asked confused "Did Andrew manage to come back?" "To return back once you've crossed your limit is impossible. Most likely he managed to kill himself" Raphael answered dry. "Killed...himself?" Anthony asked unbelieving. But Elisha shook her head. "No. No, he didn't." "But what happened then?" the tall trainee wanted to know.

Then Anthony and Raphael saw that Nila stood in front of Andrew. His eyes were silver again and his aura back to normal. His body looked still monstrous, but it was slowly shrinking back to normal.

And then they saw the reason why. Nila's claymore stuck in Andrew's chest. Crimson blood spread from it like a flower. She looked at Andrew with an empty look. Like she didn't even know him. Shocked everyone looked at her. But Andrew just looked surprised.

"You…prevented me…from awakening?" he said unbelieving.

"No one else would have done it. It was the only option to save their and my life" she answered calm.

"That I would…owe you…my humanity…Never…would have…expected that."

"Me too. It's a pity. You would have been a fine warrior. Not overly powerful, but still. And you had the guts to at least try to suppress it."

"No…matter…what…happens…you're always…a cocky…bitch. Don't expect…me…to be…grateful." He coughed. Blood sprayed out of his mouth.

"I didn't. I would say that we are even. I saved your humanity, but had to kill you to accomplish that."

"I…can…live…with…that. Give…Anthony a beating…if he…should cry…"

"I will." Andrew's Yoki-aura grew weaker.

"Al…ri…ght… Would… you… pl…ease …pull …your …claymore ….out …of …my …bo…dy? I don't…like the…feel…of…it."

"Sure!" now Nila held the hilt of her sword with both hands "Farewell, Andrew." Then she removed the claymore. Red Blood gushed from the wound in Andrew's chest. A few drops landed on Nila's cheek. The warm blood burned on her skin. Then the trainees felt how Andrew's aura vanished. His corpse lay in front of Nila's feet. A bit listless she looked at him then at her sword. Crimson blood dripped from it.

"He died in a battle how our kind is supposed to do. There's nothing to complain about" the girl stated. Raphael just starred at her. His usual calm expression had vanished. His eyes had widened in shock. Anthony was on his knees. He was crying. Just like Andrew had predicted. Elisha touched his shoulder. "Don't cry! He did not want you to. And Nila always keeps her promises. She will punch you."

Anthony closed his eyes. He didn't stop weeping. He couldn't. His best friend had just died. Andrew was dead. Suddenly he felt how someone punched his shoulder. It was quite painful. He opened his eyes and saw Nila who was standing next to him. "I said I would give you a beating if you would cry. So if you want that your bones stay undamaged, stop weeping! He's gone, crying won't change that. But he stayed human till his last breath. He stayed your friend. Honour that and stop your weeping. Act like a warrior" Nila smiled faintly "After all that's what you are now."


	6. Certificated Warrios

**Certificated Warriors**

* * *

"Nila, please eat something!" Elisha said insistent and held the piece of meat a few inches in front of her friend's face. She just shook her head.

"I'm really not hungry. A ate something couple of days ago."

"But this is the last chance, before we are going to be sent to our new territories. You need to replenish your strength!"

"Seriously I don't need food." Nila ran her fingers through her hair. She didn't wear pigtails and now her long curly hair nearly touched her hips. Although she had braided her first few strands and had fixed them behind her head, so they wouldn't fall into her face.

"You are only refusing to eat, because you are nervous!" Elisha teased. She still wore her high ponytail but additionally to that she wore now a black ribbon, to keep her vision clear.

"I am absolutely not nervous! Why should I? We are only receiving our emblems in a few hours. No big deal."

"Usually you're a good liar, but your red cheeks give you away."

"I…I'm not nervous!" Nila replied angrily and grabbed the peace of meat. She took a bite. "Nervous…I? Please!" she growled, while chewing.

"Why do I always have to force you to eat? It's not like it tastes disgusting. I think meat is actually quite tasty."

"I'm never hungry and eating even though you feel full isn't very tempting."

"But we can regenerate faster, when we eat something."

"I don't need to regenerate. I'm in top-form" Nila answered.

"Yeah, you think that and maybe it's even true, but still it can't hurt." Elisha jerked her shoulders.

"Hey, do you know how Anthony is doing?" Nila asked suddenly "As the killer of his friend I thought it would be best to stay away from him for a while."

Elisha smiled. "He isn't happy, that's true. But he's not devastated like you thought he would be. Anthony really does act like a warrior. He is glad that Andrew died as a human. He might be not your biggest fan, but he doesn't hate you."

"Good to hear" the long haired girl said and swallowed. She was relieved. Deep down inside she had been sure that Anthony would have chopped of her head if he had gotten the chance.

"Nila, you can stop now. I don't want you to vomit, because you ate too much."

"Thank you! Three bites are really quite much." She put the meat away.

"So…" Nila started "What rank do you think we'll get?"

Elisha closed her eyes. "I guess we are going to be ranked in the twenties. 25 or 26. About those ranks."

"Really? Not higher? I thought we would be ranked about 20 or 19."

"Honestly I don't think that we will be ranked in the tens."

"Why? Because we are girls?" Nila looked a bit incredible.

"Maybe, but mostly because I've never heard of a trainee who was directly ranked in the tens. If you haven't forgotten the tens are the ranks who are often summoned to Awakened Being hunts."

"And?"

"I give up. You will never get my point."

"Likely." Nila grinned. "Just a few hours and then we are warriors! I'm so excited! I hope my emblem looks cool and my armour too!"

Elisha smiled and hugged her. "After six years we finally have reached our goal! We are going to be warriors!"

…

Anthony, Elisha, Nila and Raphael stood in front of some men in black clothes. They were in a dark room. It was so silent. No one of the trainees dared to say a word. Then a man in a dark cloak stepped forward.

"Anthony, come here." The tall boy came forward. The man gave him a black collar. Nila could see the white emblem on it. It was circle with a horizontal line in the middle.

"You have been given the rank of 27." Anthony went back to his place. Quickly he put the new collar on.

"Raphael." The rather small trainee walked to the man. His emblem looked like an "H" but horizontal line in the middle wasn't connected to the others.

"You are the new number 19." "_Nineteen? That's quite a high rank. I wouldn't have expected him to be that much stronger than Anthony_" Nila thought surprised. Raphael looked also quite surprised. He obviously hadn't expected such a high rank.

"Elisha." Nila watched her friend stepping forward. Excited she tried to look at Elisha's emblem. It was a vertical line and in the middle there was a lying "S". It did look cool. Thrilled she waited for the man to say the rank of her friend.

"Elisha, you have been given the title _Shadow Elisha_, due to your special technique. You hold now the rank of 14."

"Fourteen?" Anthony whispered unbelieving. Fourteen was indeed quite a high rank. Very high for such a young warrior. "_They picked my nickname!_" Nila thought pleased. When Elisha came back, she had a bright smile on her face. Usually she didn't show that much emotion in front of others, but her new rank had made her quite happy. Nila grinned at her and formed with her lips the words "Told you so!"

"Nila." Her heart started to beat faster. She walked to the man. He handed her, her new collar. She looked at the emblem. In the middle there was a simple cross. At the ends of the short horizontal line there were two long lines which inclined to the middle. And were those lines were connected with the horizontal line, there were two short lines which inclined towards outside. She was quite pleased with the look of it.

"You have been given the rank of 13" the man said dry. "_Thirteen? Seriously? So high? This parts me only by three ranks from the single digits! _" Nila thought surprised and thrilled at the same time. She put the collar on and walked back to her place. Raphael and Anthony looked at her. Anthony's expression nearly would have made her laugh. He looked so absolutely shocked. Raphael seemed more impressed than shocked. Like he had expected that.

"Your armours and your claymores are outside. Get them. You will then be sent to your territories where will wait for your next orders" the man said.

The four left the room. Without a word they went to the four armours, which were only a few meters away. Nila saw her new armour next to her claymore. She touched with one hand her emblem on the sword. She started to put the armour on. It wasn't heavy, like she would have expected and it fit perfectly. Her wrist guards reached to her elbows and her boots to her knees. Her armour was covering quite a bit of her body. With a pleased smile she put her brand new claymore in the holster on her back. She felt like a warrior. A real warrior!

"Oh my! What a fine Number 13!" Elisha said smiling. Her armour didn't cover as much of her body as Nila's. She didn't wear boots instead she was wearing metallic shoes. Her wrist guards were also only a couple of inches long. It seemed that their armours had been adjusted to their fighting styles. Elisha had lighter armour since she was a warrior who relied on speed while Nila's armour was heavier, because her fighting style was more based on strength.

"What a nice compliment, Shadow Elisha!" Nila answered grinning "That the new Number 14 is saying something like that is truly flattering!"

"Would you two stop it, please" Anthony said. He and Raphael wore the male version of the armour. It was covering more of their chests and the waist guards looked more like pants than metallic skirts.

"Why in such a bad mood, Anthony? Is it because our Number 27 is not pleased with our ranks?" Elisha teased. She was really quite excited. Usually she would have never felt the need to comment Antony's statements.

"Honestly I think your ranks are ridiculous high."

"Well, we earned them. Deal with it!" Elisha answered "Besides Raphael is also ranked in the tens and you don't look at him like you would want to kill him."

"But he is the Number 19! He is the last one in the tens, but you are 13 and 14, for god's sake! Those are ranks insanely close to the single digits!"

"Please! There are still three ranks between me and the first single digit" Nila replied "Don't make such a fuss about it."

Anthony clenched his fist, but suddenly Raphael held him back. "Anthony, don't be foolish! Attacking them would definitely end in your defeat. You now know it officially. You are far weaker than them."

"Oh come on! It wouldn't hurt to try their strength."

Raphael shook his head. "It would most certainly hurt you. Those claymores are sharp not like the training claymores. They could cut off your arm within a second."

"Listen to him. You are an offensive warrior. You are not good at regenerating. Fighting against us is really pointless. But you've seen that in the past few years" Nila answered.

"I hope I will never be on the same Awakened Being hunt as you are" Anthony replied angry.

"Well, with such a low rank it would be surprising if you would be assigned to a hunt anyway" Elisha said cold.

But before both could try anything funny, Nila said loud "Okay, we all got it. Elisha and my ranks are a bit high. Still Raphael's and Anthony's are high two. After all the twenties are assigned to hunts too! Can we go now? I want to know where my territory is."

A few moments passed before Anthony said "Yeah, let's go."

Raphael nodded.

Elisha said smiling "Yes, this was a waste of time anyway.

Nila sighed. Elisha sometimes didn't know when to shut up.

"Let's find out where the Yomas are screwed!" the new Number 13 said grinning.


	7. Assignment

**Assignment**

* * *

"There's a village three days to the east. It seems that a couple of Yomas feed on the villagers. Eliminate them!" the man in the dark cloak said to her. Nila turned her face to the east. She couldn't sense anything. The village was out of her range, but if she would hurry, she could be there within a day. "I'm on my way" Nila replied and started walking.

"There's one more thing, Thirteen" the man added. She turned around. "Yes, Orsay?" Nila asked and hid her annoyance. Her handler had proven to be a bit melodramatic. Always holding back some information till the last second and then telling her, when she was already leaving.

It was her second month as a warrior and she was doing more than well. The tasks she had been given had been no challenge for her. Killing Yoma had proven to be very easy no matter how many of them fought against her. Dealing with the humans on the other hand had been quite hard. They had always not taken her seriously because she was a woman. A female Claymore was a rare sight indeed, but this mistrust in her abilities was quite annoying.

She had managed to make them keep their distance. Nila had never realized it, but she was fairly intimidating when she wanted to be. Her silver eyes and her strange look scared the humans and that was good. Nila didn't like humans. They were so...strange. So different from her. Their look and their smell and even their behaviour somehow disgusted her. Actually deep down inside of her she felt hatred towards them, but she didn't know why. All in all she preferred to stay away from them, especially while she was working.

"After you've done the job stay close to the village. Three more warriors will arrive there. You have been assigned to an Awakened Being hunt."

"Oh? What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to be sent to a hunt that soon. Do you know who the leader of this hunting party will be?"

"The organizations Number 8. _Steve of the Blood Eyes._"

"The Eye of the organization... I can't wait to see him in a battle! I heard he's one of the few warriors who can release enough Yoki to change his body without awakening."

"Yes, his will is very impressive…Although you seem to be able to go even further."

Nila silently cursed him. How the hell did he find that out? Elisha and she had just once tested their limits and then they had never released more than 30 percent. And during those two months there hadn't been a single occasion where she had needed to even use 5 percent of her Yoki. So how did he find that out?

"Well informed as always. It's true I could go further, but honestly I don't need to. I'm strong enough without that."

He smirked. Nila didn't like that reaction. She didn't like it at all.

"You don't believe me? Or is it not adequate for a Number 13 to say something like that?"

"Your strength is something that is unquestionable. I heard of your achievements in the past and I saw how you deal with Yomas. You have a great potential. It would be surprising if you wouldn't be promoted quite soon."

She raised her eyebrows unbelieving. "I have never heard so much praise from you. Do you think I will die during the hunt? If you imply that by your comments then I have to disappoint you. I'm not going to die, no matter who the opponent is."

"Motivation is an important factor during a battle. The chance of a promotion should improve your enthusiasm."

She turned her head away. "Well, it does sound nice. However, my enthusiasm was never a problem up to now. By the way, any clue who the Awakened Being is?"

"The Awakened Being is the former Number 8, Maxwell."

"You seem to be quite sure about that. I suppose the "Eye" gave you this information."

"Yes, but what proves his supposition is the condition of the bodies the monster left. Most of them had been cut to shreds."

"And how does that prove that this monster is Maxwell?"

"You should know that his nickname was _Maxwell the Swordstorm_. His technique allowed him to strike faster than most of the warriors. An impressive technique but in the end not powerful enough to raise his rank above 8."

"So he was an offensive warrior? That's interesting."

"This information is useful to you?"

"Of course. Now I know what I should expect and I know that he's not good at regenerating. That will prove to be very helpful during the battle."

"I see."

"Before I leave I would like to ask you something. Isn't it a bit risky to send the current Number 8 to a fight against the former Number 8? I would expect them to be quite equally in power, before Maxwell awakened of course. The monster's power must have surpassed Steve's by far now that he's an Awakened Being."

"It has been decided like that. But after all, the "Eye" doesn't fight alone."

"I suppose I will have to help him out. Well, if that was all, I will go no. We'll see us after the hunt." Nila walked away. Her heart was beating faster. She felt quite excited. Her first Awakened Being hunt would start in a few days. The first real battle she would fight. She was eager to test her strength. Nila wanted to know if she was more powerful than the Awakened Being. If she was able to fight it as easily as the normal Yomas. A grin appeared on her face, while she was heading to her next destination.


	8. Waste of Time

**Waste of time**

* * *

She entered the village, followed by the whispers of the humans.

_A Claymore?_

_But she's a woman! That can't be one of the Silver Eyed Slayers!_

_Look at the sword! That's a Claymore! She must be!_

_After all we ordered one here!_

_Do you think she will be able to find the Yoma?_

_She has to! That's our last chance or we all will be eaten by that thing!_

_But if she's a Claymore she is part Yoma herself! Why should a monster kill a different monster to help us humans?_

"Would you humans please be silent? Your whispering is awfully annoying!" Nila said loud and sharp. She was in the middle of the market place. The villagers had surrounded her. To afraid to come closer, but curious enough to follow her. They all had been flinching, while she had spoken. "If I cannot focus I might kill a human instead of a Yoma" she added slightly smiling. Her voice was sweet, but that only made the threat more intensive.

The humans looked shocked at her. Those silly creatures! Like she would ever mistake a human for a Yoma! She could feel their auras so easily and the smell of their Yoki filled the air. "_I don't understand how the Yomas are able to deceive the humans. It is so obvious who the Yomas are!_" she thought.

"So I assume that you already collected the fee for the job. For how many Yoma exactly?" Nila asked bored. The Yomas who were in the village were so weak. She knew the fight wouldn't last over a few seconds if she would take them seriously, but honestly Nila never did. An old man came forward and started to talk. His voice was silent and he was trembling. Obviously intimidated by her. "We've collected the fee for eight Yomas. It should…"

Nila interrupted him. "Good. Then I can kill all of them. Your village must be quite wealthy to be able to pay such a high fee or really, really desperate. Anyway, since you Yomas were so kind to gather all here, I will return the favour. I will give you a quick death."

She moved her hand to the hilt of her sword. Suddenly the warrior disappeared. "Where is she?" the old man asked shocked.

"Oh I'm right here!" the sweet voice of the woman replied. Her sword moved through his chest without resistance. The two parts fell down, while blood was gushing from the body.

"She killed a human!" a woman screamed terrified. Out of nowhere Nila was beside her. "Ts ts. Stop your acting. It's useless." The Number 13 sliced her head off.

Screaming the villagers ran away. Nila sighed heavily. "For crying out loud, why does it always have to come to this?" She rolled her eyes and then within a second she was next to two other Yomas. One was to her left the other one to her right. "That's not the right time to hide your power. Although it wouldn't make a difference anyway." Abruptly the two stopped. After that their chests broke into little pieces. The blood splashed into all directions and covered some of the villagers.

Now Nila stood in front of a little child. A girl with black hair. "What a nice disguise!" she stated and before the girl could move, Nila's claymore moved from her head downwards. She had split the girl into half.

Bored the warrior felt how a Yoma gave his human form up. She slowly turned her face to it. "Pretty late, don't you think?"

"I'm going to kill you, Claymore!" the monster roared.

"Funny!" Nila appeared behind him "I wanted to say the same thing to you." The monster turned around, but a second later its head hit the ground. Again she sighed. "The other two still didn't transform. How foolish of them! Although even trying to get away from me is foolish. Yomas are really quite dense and so boring!"

It didn't take her more than three seconds to catch up with one of them. "Wha…" the Yoma in human disguise started, but Nila didn't let him finish its sentence. She cut the entire creature into little shreds. "Just one left. Finally. Yomas are such a waste of time."

The Yoma had hidden in a little alley. It was trying to hide its aura. Nila could tell, but her senses were far too sharp to let this work. "Oh my, oh my! How desperate you must be to even try to hide. Usually you are always so proud that you are the predators of this world. Since when does a predator have to hide? Well, it's time to end our game of tag" she said while looking down on the Yoma. She stood on a rooftop. Surprised and terrified the Yoma stared at her. Then Nila jumped. The monster was screaming, while the Number 13 sliced through its chest.

With one move of her arm she removed the purple blood off her sword. Nila put the claymore back into its holster. The sound of clinking armour was the only thing that could be heard, while she walked back to the market place. Then, after Nila had made sure that the humans could hear her, she said "The job is completed. Eight Yomas have been killed. A stranger dressed in black will come by later to collect the fee. Give the money to him. I will leave now."

The warrior walked out of the village into the nearby woods. She would wait outside for the rest of the hunting party. She couldn't bare the presence of humans for longer than a few minutes. After Nila had found an appropriate place to rest, she stuck her sword into the ground. She leaned against it. Even though the fight had been a bloodbath, not a single drop of blood had stained her clothes. Nila sighed. "I guess from now on I have nothing left, but to wait."


	9. Meeting the Party

**Meeting the party**

* * *

"Oh, how I hate boredom!" Nila said angrily. The warrior stood in front of some rocks. She wasn't wearing her armour. Then Nila started to cut the rocks into little pieces. Her sword moved smoothly like there was no resistance at all. She was practicing her strength and precision, but that wasn't able to keep her entertained. She had been waiting for three days now and was getting more and more impatient. "Gods, why are they so slow?"

What annoyed her even more was the fact that she couldn't sense the Awakened Being. Nila didn't have a wide range. She could sense everything within a mile radius. Within that there was nothing with Yoki in its body that could hide from her, but everything that was farther away was undetectable for her. That was really a nuisance, especially since she knew that the Awakened Being was actually quite close. Of course she had thought about wandering around, but orders were orders. Even if they were driving her crazy!

She groaned. Patience wasn't Nila's strong point.

Suddenly she turned around. Something had just entered her sensing range. "Three auras... Three warriors. One is far stronger than the other two. That must be the single digit. The other ones are…average. But stronger than Anthony…stronger than Raphael. So there are only tens and a single digit in this party. Appropriate for the opponent" Nila said silently. She focused a bit harder. All three of them were defensive type warriors. The way how the Yoki was flowing through their bodies told her that. "So I'm the only offensive warrior. But it seems that I'm stronger than those two. At least regarding Yoki-mass. I'm not so sure about the single digit. He is suppressing his aura partly. I guess I can assume that I'm the second strongest member of this team, although I could be wrong about that."

Nila put her armour on. She wanted to make a good impression. Those were the first warriors she would work with and that made her quite excited. They were coming closer quite fast. "_Yeah, now you hurry_!" she thought a bit angry. Then the three warriors finally reached her.

They were all taller than her, although just slightly. The one, who had the weakest aura, had short silver blond hair and a beard. He had a friendly face. His emblem was a simple cross with a circle in the middle.

The other one, who was a bit stronger, had long straw blond hair and wore a ponytail. He also seemed quite likeable, although he looked a bit…sad. At least not very happy. His emblem was a triangle with a vertical line in the middle.

The one, who was obviously Steve, had also short blond hair, but his ears were pointed like Elisha's. He looked strict and his features were sharp. His symbol was a simple circle.

They all wore the male version of the armour, but the single digit's cape was far longer than the other ones. It reached to his ankles not to the hips like the others. That was something that differentiated the single digits from the normal warriors.

They all looked at her a bit confused and surprised. The single digit made a step forward. His look was a bit confused.

"Are you the fourth member of this hunting party?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. Judging from your appearance I must be addressing to my Captain for this mission. I'm pleased to meet you." Usually Nila wasn't this polite, but now wasn't the time to be cocky.

"A girl?" the one with the short hair said surprised "Since when are there female warriors?"

"About two months ago I received my emblem" Nila answered.

"A newbie and a girl? They've got to be kidding! She won't survive for longer than a few minutes" the short haired said sighing.

"Well, who are you? How high is your rank that you can be so sure about the fact that I will die and you won't?" Nila asked still with a friendly voice. She didn't necessarily want to start a fight, but she wouldn't just stay mute, while someone was insulting her.

The short haired one chuckled. "You seem to have some guts to be able to talk to me like that. I'm the _Indestructible Cleo_. Number 18. And my friend here is _Niel the Crying_. Number 17. And who are you? Let me guess. Number 47? No, 46."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Number 18 and 17. I've heard quite a lot about you two. Quite a bit actually. But if it's okay, I will introduce myself to the Captain first." She turned her head to the single digit.

"It's an honour to meet the Organization's "Eye", _Steve of the Blood Eyes. _My name is Nila. I hold the rank of thirteen and was assigned to this hunting party by the orders of the organization" she said politely.

Cleo's mouth opened and also Niel seemed to be very surprised. "_Didn't think that, ha?_" she thought pleased. Her high rank seemed to have impressed them. The Captain nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Nila Number 13. Glad to see that at least some members of this party have manners." He glanced at Cleo.

"How the hell am I supposed to know that she's ranked higher than me?" he asked and he sounded slightly embarrassed. "Doesn't matter. You should be polite to every warrior. They all deserve your respect" Steve answered. "_Thank the goddesses! The Captain isn't a jerk!_" Nila thought relieved. Actually Steve reminded her a bit of Elisha. Calm and reasonable.

"And how do we know that she's really ranked that high and not only talking bullshit?" Cleo asked while looking at her "I never heard of a female 13." "You don't trust my words? Should I demonstrate that I'm stronger than you?" Nila replied still smiling. This Cleo had obviously no idea of what she was capable of.

"This seems to be good idea. I have to get a feeling of your abilities anyway" Steve said calm "We will fight the Awakened Being tomorrow. We will rest here for tonight." That didn't bother Nila, because even though she would have to wait for the battle, she had now something to entertain her.

"Should we fight without armour? I do not wish to damage yours" Nila said.

"Like you would be able to do that" Cleo answered slightly arrogant.

"Very well. Then start. You will see that my strength is more than fitting for my rank" she replied.

The Number 18 leaped forward. When their swords met sparks emitted. Nila met his strike and was holding her sword with only one hand, while he was holding it with both. "What?" he said unbelieving. "See? Even physically you are far weaker than me" she answered still smiling. Now he tried to catch her off guard with fast blows, but he couldn't land a single hit. Nila could have burst out laughing. The Number 18 couldn't hold a candle to her, no matter how hard he was trying.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Cleo cursed, with every single blow. Then his sword fell to the ground several meters away. He just starred at his claymore. Smiling Nila said "Like I said before. You are far weaker than me." "You…That was…God, dammit! You are a freaking Number 13!" Cleo said angry, obviously hurt in his pride.

Nila turned her head to Niel. "Don't bother. You would end just like him, even with a surprise attack. I'm 13. You 17. It is clear how the battle ends" she said to the long haired warrior. Steve and Niel had watched the battle silently, sitting a few meters away. Surprised Niel starred at her. Then he spoke for the first time. "How did you know that I was intending to do that?" She jerked her shoulders. "It was quite obvious. That's all. Do you feel the need to prove my strength too?"

Niel looked at her for a while. "Only one rank separates me from Cleo. You defeated him with ease..." "Hey! Not with ease!" Cleo interrupted. "Anyway, it's clear. You are stronger than me without doubt" Niel said. "Very well. Glad you finally agree!" Nila replied smiling.

The single digit stood up. "May I try your strength by myself?" "You still don't believe me that I'm 13?" she asked and raised her eyebrows. "No, that's not it. I just would like to see of what you are capable of." "If you wish to fight me, then go ahead. But I would like to remove my armour. I don't want it to be damaged" she answered. Nila wasn't sure how strong this single digit really was and her armour shouldn't be broken before the actual hunt began. Quickly she had removed it.

She looked at Steve a bit surprised. He wasn't wearing his armour anymore. He saw her expression and answered "Just because I'm a single digit, doesn't mean no one can land a blow on me." "I doubt that a 13 could even scratch a Number 8" Nila answered.

"We'll see. Now let us begin."

"Alright, Captain."

This time it was Nila who attacked first. But she was careful. Her opponent was a single digit after all. Focused she started to swing her claymore. Steve was parrying it without difficulty. She dodged his attack and then blocked his next attack. "You are indeed fast and strong" Steve said. "Thank you, Captain! It is certainly flattering to hear that from a single digit" she answered and jumped to the side to evade his strike.

Nila really didn't know what to do. She was holding back. Holding back some of her strength. She didn't want to hurt him. How silly it might sounded, a Number 13 was afraid to hurt a Number 8. She could read his Yoki-flow so easily. Nila knew exactly when she would have to strike to cut him down. "_Am I really not misjudging my limit? Am…I able to hurt a single digit? Able to even defeat him? He's not as strong as I supposed he would be. But perhaps he is hiding his true strength. In a battle like this I won't find out anyway_."

Their swords met again. And again. And again. Steve had sped up. But that wasn't a problem for her. She could foresee his moves. Clearly she saw every strike coming. But after a while she got a bit frustrated. Nila didn't like it when she wasn't dominating a fight. It made her a bit angry actually. And suddenly for only a second she forgot to hold her strength back. Her strike was as strong as when she cut down a Yoma. Their swords clashed together and…Steve stumbled backwards. He hadn't been strong enough to parry her strike.

"Did you see that, Niel?" Cleo asked, starring at Steve.

"I did."

"Did Steve just stumble?"

"He most certainly did."

"But why?"

"I suppose her strike was too powerful."

"But she's only a 13! She couldn't possess enough strength to do that!

"Then why did he stumble?"

The Captain looked at Nila. First he frowned then he tilted his head. "Would you be so kind to tell me how you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Nila replied a bit confused.

"During our fight no matter how fast I swung my blade your sword was already there to block me. I doubt I would be able to land a hit on you, no matter how fast I would strike."

Nila looked at the ground. How foolish she had been to think that a single digit wouldn't notice her special skill. Still he didn't need to know everything about it. "It has got something to do with the Yoki-flow. It's hard to describe how it works. I kind of foresee the strikes. As long as I keep up with my opponent and focus there's no way past my defence."

"I assume you could use that skill also offensively. For example you could strike right in the moment when I'm not able to block it."

"Yes, but in a fight like this it's not necessary."

"What an impressive technique."

"A technique that is useless if you don't have the required skills to block or to evade from the foreseen strikes. And I doubt that everyone is able to do that. You need superb Yoki-reading skills. Even you, Captain, who exceeds at sensing Yoki, would have quite a hard time doing it. After all reading and sensing Yoki are two different things."

"I see. A skill like this could get you in the single digits someday. I see now why you have been assigned to this hunt" Steve stated and stuck his sword into the ground.

Nila lowered her claymore. She looked at the single digit for some moments, and then put her sword away. She sat down and thought silently about the words of the Captain. "_Seems like the years of training paid off. He couldn't land a hit on me, although he wasn't fighting with all sincerity. One the other hand I wasn't fighting with all my power myself…I would really like to know how a real battle between us would end._"

….

"Hey, Steve! Any special strategy for tomorrow? I mean this Awakened Being is a former single digit after all" Cleo asked after two hours of silence. All of the warriors hadn't had something to say and had stayed quiet. Steve looked at him and answered calm "No, nothing in particular. Just watch out for his arms and claws. He will strike much faster than the average Awakened Being. …And while I'm in charge no one will use Yoki without my clear permission. Nobody awakens during my hunts."

"Too bad. Without Yoki-release this monster will die a slow death" Cleo answered grinning. Nila listened quietly. Then Niel asked to her "This is your first hunt, right?" She nodded. "How often have you fought against one of those monsters?" Nila wanted to know.

Niel closed his eyes for a while then he answered "This is my fifth hunt, but none of them was a single digit."

"What about you Cleo? How many of them have you defeated so far?" the Number 13 asked.

"Ähm…It's my sixth time. Although one of them was a former 45 so he wasn't really a challenge. But our Captain here has fought against ten so far. The last one was a former Number 10. Pretty close to the single digits."

"Then all of you have experience then? That's good" Nila said silently.

"You should stand back and let us do the work" Cleo added grinning.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible."

Everyone looked at Steve.

"What do you mean?" Number 18 asked.

"Our target is very strong and hasn't, like most of the Awakened Beings, lost his sanity. He is cunning and intelligent. We are four warriors, but only one of us an offensive type. That means I and Nila will have to be the ones attacking, while you are going to be ones who will cover us. As defensive warriors, that is the task you are suited for."

"Oh come on! This newbie won't be able to scratch this thing. Just because she's an offensive warrior doesn't mean her attacks are more powerful" Cleo replied annoyed.

"Actually being an offensive type exactly means that. But that will be our strategy and you are not going to disobey my orders" Steve replied serious, but still serene.

Nila leaned against her claymore. She didn't feel the need to enter the conversation. Tomorrow she would fight an Awakened Being and no matter how Cleo insulted her, nothing could destroy her good mood.


	10. The Swordstorm's last battle

**The Swordstorm's last battle**

* * *

The four warriors walked over the plains. Only a few trees stood there. None of them said something. Everyone was focused and their bodies were tense. They could sense the monster's presence. Its Yoki was undeniable powerful. It was less than a mile ahead of them. Nila felt that it was in its true form. At least it didn't waste time. She took a deep breath. For the first time Nila was nervous. She had never felt such an enormous aura. "_So that's the power of an awakened single digit. We better not lose!_"

Then they could see it. First a shadow then a clear silhouette. It seemed to be expecting them. But that wasn't surprising. None of the party members tried to hide his Yoki.

Then its monstrous shape moved towards them. It looked like a gigantic spider with the torso of a human. Its skin was black with a shade of blue like the wings of a raven. Instead of arms there were at least fifty long and sharp metallic claws. They were not less than three meters long. "_I see how his technique manifested in his new form_" she thought. Now only twenty meters parted them form the creature. Its face looked human except that its eyes were golden. Curled dark brown hair fell into its face.

"So you are the unfortunate warriors who are sent to kill me?" it asked slightly smiling. Its voice was sweet and calm. It didn't look at the warriors as a threat that was obvious. The famous arrogance of the Awakened Beings.

Steve drew his sword. "Yes, we are. But the one who is unfortunate is you. Maxwell, former Number 8 of the organization, we have been sent to take your head." Like that had been a silent sign, the other three warriors drew their claymores too.

"And who are you? A single digit I suppose and the leader of this hunting party" the Awakened Being answered.

"My name is _Steve of the Blood Eyes_. I'm the "Eye" of the organization and the current Number 8" he replied.

Maxwell raised his eyebrows. "They sent the one who replaced me? I really would have expected a higher rank. I'm a bit disappointed. But looking at you makes me feel so nostalgic. How odd!"

Then his look caught Nila. "A woman? That is surprising! Since when does the organization create female warriors?"

Instead of Steve, Nila answered "Someone who is going to die doesn't have to know that."

"Oh! How confident! But I'm afraid that you are the ones who will die. But I will have my fun with you, don't worry. Especially with you." he pointed with his claws at Nila. "You look quite delicious. Torturing you before I will devour you, will surely wake my appetite. So let's begin our little game. I'm really looking forward to it!"

It jumped and landed between the warriors. In the last second they were able to evade from its striking claws. They were moving so fast that Nila couldn't see them. But…relieved she realized that she could sense its strikes. The amount of Yoki it used made it very easy to predict its movements. Its claws shot towards her. She dodged.

Although the creature was fighting four warriors at once, it was able to defend every one of their attacks. This monster was powerful! Again she felt claws coming towards her. Nila leaped to the side, and while jumping she cut the claws. Satisfied she saw the purple blood of the Awakened Being.

For a while the warriors were fighting like this. The three lower ranked warriors tried to distract it, while Steve was mostly attacking. He did hurt the creature, but he was also hurt during that. Scratches and cuts were on his hands and legs. Cleo and Niel had been also hurt, but their cuts were deeper and longer. Only Nila remained unhurt, due to her special skill.

The Awakened Being jumped again and landed in front of Nila and Steve. Niel was on its right side and Cleo behind it. Suddenly the Number 13 sensed what the monster was going to do. "Watch out, Cleo!" she screamed, but it was too late. Nila saw how the claws of the creature cut Cleo's legs with insane speed to shreds. Blood painted the grass crimson red. "Bastard!" she hissed. At least Number 18 was still alive. If he really was such a superb defensive warrior, he would be able to regenerate his legs. He couldn't be called the _Indestructible _without a reason. But there was no way he could fight now. He would need quite some time to regenerate his legs. And the other ones had to give him this time.

Now the remaining warriors attacked the Awakened Being. They were able to cut it, but its fast strikes were really quite a problem. Steve was able to land more strikes on the creature than before. The anger must have had increased his strength. Purple blood dripped from his sword. Nila and Niel were mostly covering him. But Number 13 felt that only Steve's attacks wouldn't be enough to cut the Awakened Being down.

After about twenty minutes Niel got kicked away by the monster. He hit the ground sixty meters away and a few seconds later the Awakened Being was next to him. "Gotcha!" the monster said smiling and the lighting fast claws moved to Niel.

"_No! Niel!_" Nila thought shocked "_You bastard! I won't let you kill him! I WON'T LET YOU!_" She wanted to save him. She had to save him, but she had to kill this monster to accomplish that. And a second later a strange numbness overcame her. Then suddenly bloodlust rushed through her and she felt how all her muscles tensed. And after that she felt how something else took over…

…

Steve wanted to save Niel, but he knew that his body wouldn't be fast enough. He saw the claws moving towards his fellow warrior. Niel would die. Cut to shreds within a second. Then suddenly there was the sound of metal clashing together. Shocked Steve realised that Nila stood in front of Niel parrying the strikes of the creature. Her arm was moving so fast that he nearly couldn't see it anymore. The face of the girl was nearly clear of emotion. Her eyes were still silver.

How was she able to be so fast without using her Yoki? Even if she was able to foresee the strikes, she shouldn't be able to keep up with the tremendous speed of the Awakened Being. Such insane speed within such a frail body. "How do you do that, bitch?" the angry and also surprised monster asked. "You do not need to know. But…I won't let you kill him! I won't let you win this battle! You will die here and now!" she answered calm.

Then Nila disappeared. A second later she stood just two meters away from Steve. "Wha…" the Awakened Being said and its eyes widened, when it saw how all of his right claws fell to the ground. He wanted to reattach them but a split second later they broke into little pieces. "If I cut something off you, then I want that it stays like this" Nila said. "What the hell? What the hell are you? No one can be fast enough to parry my strikes!" the Awakened Being said unbelieving "What's your rank?" Slowly she turned around and said "My name is Nila and I'm the organizations Number 13."

"13? No! You must be lying! A 13 isn't able to do something like that!" the Awakened Being replied unbelieving. "I don't need to deceive you. So you can trust my words" Nila answered. The creature shot his remaining claws in her direction. She jumped into the air and cut several of his claws off.

Steve starred at her for a few seconds. Was this girl really this strong? Was she strong enough to take this monster on her own? Her aura…Her aura was so strange. On the outside it seemed to be normal. Fitting for her rank. Yet underneath the surface she hid something. A power he couldn't describe closer, but one thing was sure. This Nila couldn't be a normal warrior.

"Captain. I will cover you and then you will be able to take its head" Nila said seriously. He just nodded and gripped his sword a bit more tightly. Then both leaped forward.

Roaring the monster attacked them, but just like she had said, Nila blocked every attack of the creature. No matter how fast or powerful the strike was. "BITCH!" the Awakened Being screamed furious. Then Steve's eyes turned golden. He felt how the power of the Yoki spread through his body. He felt the rush of the strength, but resisted it, although it felt incredibly tempting. He raised his sword. And then with a powerful blow he beheaded the monster. Purple blood gushed from the neck. The reek of the monsters blood made Steve feel a bit sick. "This…is…not…happe…" Maxwell said faintly, before the former Number 8 died. Its head hit the ground. Then the rest of its body collapsed. It made quite a stir.

Nila looked at the cadaver. This feeling…This incredible feeling of power! She had never felt so alive before! This creature it had been…weak. It had been no threat to her! At first she hadn't been sure how to deal with the monster, but then after she had decided to protect Niel's life with her own, Nila had felt the difference in power. The Awakened Being, a former single digit, had been too slow and too weak for her! Her strength had by far surpassed its. Without even using her Yoki, she could have slain it! Nila looked at her hands. This realisation of power was unbelievable! She had been wrong. She wasn't the second strongest member of this party; no Nila was the strongest of them. "_Incredible! I didn't know that my body possesses this kind of power!_"

But then she remembered how she had felt a few moments before she had saved Niel. There had been something wrong with her for a second. Her head had felt so light and yet incredible focused on killing the monster. It had felt like a rush. After that she had moved without thinking about what she was doing. She looked at her right hand again. When she thought about it, it had felt like something else had been in control of her body. Then she shook this thought off. What a ridiculous idea!

Niel was standing again. He seemed to have recovered from the crash onto the ground. Although he was a bit limping. "You made it!" he said relieved. "Yes, we did" Steve replied. His eyes were silver again. Then the single digit walked to Cleo. His legs looked almost normal again, but he would still need a couple of minutes to complete the regeneration. "How are you, Cleo?" Steve asked. "Can't complain. I'm still alive and the monster is dead. Isn't the first time I lost a leg" he replied. "Good" the "Eye" said.

Then Niel looked at Nila. "Thanks…for saving me. I thought I would die" he said.

Nila closed her eyes. "You don't need to thank me. As a warrior it is only natural that I protected you."

"But being able to do that isn't" Steve replied calm.

"What do you mean by that, Captain?" she asked surprised. Steve had a strange expression on his face. Searching in a way, but there was something else…Nila couldn't describe it

"I just say it's odd that a 13 is powerful enough to take an awakened Number 8 all by herself."

"I didn't. You were the one, who killed it."

"Only because you cleared the way. A task which I wouldn't have been capable of" Steve said. He frowned. The Number 8 was looking for something. She wasn't sure for what.

Nila turned around. "I only did my duty as a warrior. That's all."

"13, would you be so kind to release 10 percent of your Yoki?" Steve asked serious. Niel and Cleo looked as surprised and confused as Nila.

"Why should I do that? The battle is over. There's no need for that!"

"I just want you to do it. It doesn't matter if you see a reason in it or not" the "Eye" answered. "What if I'm not able to resist the rush? You surely don't want me to awaken" Nila replied serious. What was this single digit planning? No matter what it was she didn't like it.

"I will risk it" he answered simply. Nila didn't say something. She didn't want to release her Yoki. Not when the circumstances were so strange.

"Are you disobeying my orders?" the Number 8 asked. The silver haired warrior looked at her. She looked everything but happy.

"Fine. I will do it, although it's completely pointless" Nila answered finally. She closed her eyes. Actually in the past she had released her Yoki only for fun, not because she had needed it. She felt strangely threatened. Why did he force her to release her Yoki? It was just…weird.

Nila slowly opened her eyes. Then from one moment to the other her silver eyes turned golden. She felt how the power spread in her body. A warm and pleasant feeling overcome her. Going further was a bit tempting, but not that much.

The three warriors just looked at her. Steve looked thoughtful and focused. Niel and Cleo didn't look at her at all. But Niel clenched one of his fists. Both of them looked tense. After some moments Nila blinked and her eyes returned to their original colour.

"Happy now?" she asked Steve.

He didn't answer her and said instead "The mission has been completed. You can now return to your territories."

Nila didn't bother to say any parting words and turned around. She walked away silently. And while she was walking she had the strange feeling that she had by releasing her Yoki given away vitally important information.


	11. A Friendly Chat

_**A Friendly Chat**_

* * *

_A few days later at the border of the territories of Number 8 and 7_

"And Steve? How was your hunt?" the tall warrior asked. His face was soft and friendly. He wore his long, straw blond hair as a loose ponytail. His ears were pointed just like Steve's but the left one was a bit damaged. A part was missing. "Heard it was the former Number 8 Maxwell."

The "Eye" was sitting beside the campfire and was looking at the Number 7 who was practising his sword movements.

"Yes, it was Maxwell."

"And how was it? Fighting against an awakened single-digit?"

"Frightening." Some minutes passed. Steve's friend was obviously waiting for a more detailed answer, but the "Eye" remained silent.

The Number 7 raised his eyebrows.

"Frightening? That's all you can say about it? What's wrong with you? Usually you tell me everything about your hunts."

"Fighting against someone this powerful is frightening. I don't know how else to describe it. Deal with it. But how was your hunt, Michael? Who was it?"

The warrior closed his eyes and swung his blade faster. "Someone ranked in the twenties. I didn't bother to ask for his name. He was a defensive type. Damn annoying to fight."

"Judging from your ear he was a bit more powerful than you thought" Steve teased.

Michael groaned. "I hope you wouldn't notice, but yes. I misjudge one of his attacks."

"Lucky you were fast enough to dodge it."

Number 7 frowned like he was remembering something unpleasant. Then he said "I have to admit…I wasn't fast enough."

"What? You mean…" Steve looked shocked.

"I was saved by one of the other team members." Michael looked embarrassed. Steve simply rolled his eyes.

"And? What's so bad about that? They are there for that. To assist you" the "Eye" shook his head slightly. His best friend's pride was sometimes quite annoying.

"I know, but…it…was a girl" Michael mumbled while scratching the back of his head.

"WHAT? You had a girl in your party too?" Steve asked unbelieving. Another girl? Number 13 wasn't the only one?

"Wait. You also had a female warrior in your team? Seriously? Wow, that's quite a…coincidence. Considering the fact that female warriors are…brand new."

"Yeah, quite. Who was it?"

"Can't remember. I thought it wasn't important who she…"

"This girl saved your ass! You know exactly who she is! Swallow your damn pride and tell me!" Steve demanded.

"Okay, okay! Her name was Elisha and her rank was 14. Satisfied?"

"No, not really."

"And?"

"What?"

"What was the name of your female member?"

"Nila. Rank 13."

"Wow. Both are quite high ranked, aren't they?" Michael said.

"Mhm…"

Number 7 sat down beside his friend. He looked at Steve seriously and said "You know, you can tell me what's bothering you. I'm your best friend after all. Besides you didn't look so worried since you were assigned to your first hunt."

Steve sighed. "It's just…How was this Elisha doing during the hunt?"

Michael was thinking for some moments. Then he answered "Pretty well. Better than the Number 12 for sure. And damn she was fast! You know I saw the Number 2 in battle and he's the fastest warrior alive, so I'm not easily impressed regarding speed, but this Elisha was just…You couldn't see her for most of the time! And not a single time the monster hit her! Really. It was like she knew what this thing was going to do" Steve's eyebrows raised slightly. This ability sounded familiar "Wouldn't be surprised if we would see her in the single digits someday."

"I see."

"And how was this Nila doing?"

"Equally impressive. She was the only one who stayed unharmed. Even I was wounded by this creature. And she was able to parry the strikes of Maxwell…"

"Wait a second! She could parry the strikes of Maxwell? _Maxwell the Swordstorm_? The one with the lightning fast attacks? You've got to be kidding!" Michael said unbelieving. He had met Maxwell, before he had awakened. He knew all too well how fast his attacks had been.

"It's true. I was shocked myself. And…at the end of the battle I realised that she would have been enough to kill the Awakened Being." Steve frowned. Obviously he was bothered by this fact.

"…A Number 13? Strong enough to kill an awakened Number 8? That's unbelievable! Simply not possible!" Michael said serious.

"But she was strong enough! She didn't even release her Yoki!"

"Maybe Maxwell wasn't as strong as everyone thought."

"I'm the "Eye"! I never make mistakes regarding Yoki sensing! He was as strong!"

"Alright. Then those two are strong enough to be in the single digits. Big deal. It's not worth it to worry about that" Michael answered.

"That's not it. I got her to release 10 percent of her Yoki. I was curious, because she was hiding her true strength inside her. She didn't even realise it, but instinctively she created a weaker aura around her true aura. Like every strong warrior does."

"You mean the same thing that Isley, Rigaldo and Dauf do? Hiding their auras beneath a weaker layer?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, exactly that. Did you sense something like that on Elisha?"

"Well…could be. I'm not sure. Unlike you I have to concentrate on other things, while killing monsters."

"Very funny."

"And? How strong was her aura when she released her Yoki?"

"It was…amazing. I have never felt such an enormous aura before. Such power within such a tiny little body! It was frightening and exciting at the same time. This girl has the power of a monster!" Steve said silently "And she doesn't even know that she's so much stronger. I think that she will become one of the top ranking warriors."

Michael tilted his head. After some moments he answered "Well, I wouldn't mind if those two would become top ranking warriors. They are certainly more likeable than Dauf or Roger or Warren. They're all assholes."

Steve suddenly smiled. "You just like the idea of female warriors, don't you?"

"And? What's bad about that? I mean Elisha was kind of…cute."

"When you say cute you mean hot, right?"

"Well…yeah. Should have seen her without her armour…" Michael was grinning.

"Okay, stop right there. If I want to listen to something like that I would go to Joel not you."

"Gods, you are no fun!"


	12. A Duel Between Two Monsters

**_A Duel Between Two Monsters_**

* * *

"Both? Both awakened?" Nila asked and tried to hide how shocked she was. Orsay was looking at her listless. The warrior shook her head. This couldn't be! "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yes. Number 4 and 5 awakened two weeks ago" he answered calm.

"Both at the same time? Why?"

"They were upset because they were replaced by two other warriors."

"And just because of that they awakened?"

"Both of them are hot-tempered."

"That's no excuse! What lousy warriors to awaken over something like that!" Nila clenched her fists. She knew that till now no one above the rank of 7 had awakened. Those two were the strongest Awakened Beings in history! She had fought against an awakened Number 8, but she couldn't compare Maxwell's power to theirs. There was a huge gap between Number 5 and 6! A Number 5 wasn't parted by three ranks from an 8. Rather by ten.

"I knew warriors who awakened over lesser things" Orsay simply stated.

"Hmpf…" Angry she glanced at her handler. How could he be so calm when the former Number 4 and 5 had awakened?

"And? Where do I have to kill the next Yomas?" Nila asked impatient.

Then Orsay smirked and answered "No, not ordinary Yomas."

She raised her eyebrows. "So it's an Awakened Being hunt?" Her first hunt had been three months ago. Since then her skills had improved. Nila had trained every day for countless of hours. She wanted to become a single-digit at all costs. She was hoping that Elisha was doing the same thing. She hadn't seen her since they received their emblems and Nila was missing her best friend dearly. But she hadn't found the time to meet her. The Number 13 had been quite busy in the last three months.

"Yes, indeed. You see I haven't told you about the recent awakening of Number 4 and 5 without a reason."

Nila's eyes widened. "_No! Please, don't say it! Please, don't tell me to…_"

"The former Number 4 is feeding on the humans of a village in your territory. In the north two days from here. They have called for our assistance."

"You mean you will send a hunting party? And I'm part of it?" Nila asked a bit unsure.

"Not…quite. We are a bit short handed right now. Some low ranked warriors awakened and all of our single digits are very busy right now. I'm afraid you will have to deal with him alone."

Her jaw dropped. For some moments she looked at Orsay completely shocked. Was he serious? She should fight against an awakened Number 4? Alone? This had to be a sick joke! There was no way should could win a battle of this kind! There was no way she could survive!

"A…alone? Without any help?" she asked with her eyes widened in shock.

"We could send some warriors ranked in the forties and thirties, but I doubt they would be of any use."

"What…what about Elisha? Is she…busy right now?"

"Yes, she is quite busy actually. What's wrong? It's not like you to be afraid of an opponent."

Anger rose in her chest. It cost her lot of effort to stay calm and say "Well, usually the opponent is not that much stronger than me. Besides does the organisation really think that a Number 13 is able to kill a former Number 4? What about the warrior who replaced him? Wouldn't it be his job to kill him?"

"The new Number 4?…The new Number 4 has been assigned to an Awakened Being hunt just like the new Number 5. It has been decided. You will fight against this Awakened Being. Those are the orders of your superiors."

For a moment she thought about cutting of his head to make his arrogant grin disappear, but then she answered "Very well. I will fight against this monster, although I cannot guarantee that I will be victorious. But…if I should be, will I be promoted?"

He just grinned and didn't respond.

"Thanks!" she hissed angrily and walked away. For the first time since she became a warrior, no for the first time since she became a trainee, Nila was afraid. For the first time in years she wasn't sure if she would survive the oncoming battle. And this fear surrounded her for her entire journey.

…

Nila stood two hundred meters in front of the small village. The sun was about to set. The orange light let everything glow. The warrior could sense the Awakened Being. It was in its human form, quite in the centre of the village. She had never felt such an enormous aura before. Maxwell was nothing compared to it. A cold breeze blew into her face letting her long curls to swirl in the wind.

Nila tried to hide her aura. She wanted to at least have the moment of surprise, but she wasn't sure if it was working. She looked at her hands. They were trembling. So much fear! "How am I supposed to fight if my whole body is shaking?" she said silently. Was there even a small chance that she could win? Dammit! She could have defeated this stupid former Number 8 without using Yoki! She was stronger than her rank! There was a chance of survival, but it was a very small one. There had to be a chance! But actually she couldn't even convince herself that she had one.

Slowly she walked to the village. Her heart was beating faster than ever before! "_I have to survive no matter what! I have to win this battle! I can't die, not before I become a single digit!_" she thought determined, while she entered the village.

The people looked at her frightened, but also a bit relieved. Surely they thought she would soon kill the Yoma, who was eating the villagers. "_Shit! Those humans will certainly get in my way!_" Nila thought tense. The usual whispering of the humans surrounded her, but for the first time she didn't bother to shut them up. All her thoughts were focused on the battle. She was absolutely concentrated on killing this monster. It was a bit weird, but this was the first time Nila intended to fight with all sincerity. In the battle with Maxwell she had held back, because there had been other warriors. Now she was all alone and her whole body was ready for the fight.

She arrived at the market place. There! Just a few meters in front of her she saw it. The Awakened Being in its human from. It was a tall, rather good looking man. Its hair was black and curled. The eyes were dark green. The face of the creature was sharp, yet friendly. Like always the monster didn't look like one. It turned its face to her like the other villagers, but its look wasn't frightened more surprised and quite curious.

Only for a second Nila hesitated then she made a step forward. Slowly she drew her claymore.

_What's she doing?_

_Did she find the Yoma?_

_Looks like it._

_But who is it?_

_I don't care as long as she kills it._

She took a deep breath. "Please, I would…prefer if we would fight this battle outside the village. Destroying the village and killing the humans inside of it during our fight seems to me a bit wasteful."

The monster didn't respond. It just kept looking at her curiously.

"Alright. Then I ask all of you villagers, to leave this place now unless you want to be killed. And please hurry I haven't got all day" Nila said politely. The humans didn't move. "I said HURRY!" the warrior shouted. Now the villagers started to move. First they walked then they ran away from the market place. Only Nila and the Awakened Being stayed there.

Nila had synchronized her Yoki with the monster completely. In a normal situation she wouldn't have done this, because after training sensing the Yoki flow in the brain this long it wasn't necessary anymore, but she was very nervous and quite afraid. Now she could foresee every of his movements more intensely than usually, but if she was able to dodge them was a different question.

"Before…before we start this battle, may I ask for your name, former Number 4?" Nila asked trying to sound polite.

The monster tilted its head. Then it answered "Warren. It's Warren. And who are you?" It sounded…kindly and politely. Its voice was deep and pleasant.

Nila suppressed a shiver. "My…name is Nila. I'm the organisation's Number 13. I was sent…to take your head, Warren former Number 4."

Now it looked even more interested. "You all alone? Or are the other ones hiding?" It raised its head and looked to its left and then to its right, trying to sense other warriors.

Now she shivered. "No, I'm alone."

It looked at her for a moment then it said "You are a girl."

"Yes, I'm a girl, but that is quite obvious."

"I didn't know that there are female warriors."

"It's quite rare."

"Are there other girls?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm only interested. So?"

"…I don't think that you need to know."

"Oh? Why? Because I will die soon?" it teased. Yes, this was a very popular sentence among warriors: "_You do not need to know, because you will die." _But right here and now Number 13 realized that this monster wasn't the one who was about to die.

Suddenly Nila shook her head. "No, probably not."

"Why are you so pessimistic? The organisation wouldn't have sent you if hadn't had a chance against me."

"We both know that the organisation doesn't value the life of its warriors. I was only sent to buy time, till they send a hunting party appropriate for your strength."

"You are a smart one and you are not naïve. I like that."

Nila gripped her sword tighter. "So let us begin. Our conversation has lasted long enough."

The Awakened Being frowned. "Oh, already? I enjoyed our talk. You seem to be quite fun. I do not wish to kill you that soon."

"But I don't want to wait for my death this long" Nila responded and sounded a bit angry. "_Stupid, arrogant son of a bitch! Stop talking and start fighting!_"

"Perhaps we can make a compromise? You'll attack and I'll stay in my human form. Then the battle lasts a bit longer…Although if you are just a Number 13, it won't make a big difference, I fear. Maybe I'll torture you a bit longer…"

"That's fine with me." The silver haired warrior took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "_No holding back this time! Fight with all your strength!_"

"Here we go" Nila whispered and leaped forward as fast as she could. Then she swung her blade with all her might, trying to take its head. Like she had predicted, her strike didn't hit it. It jumped in the air and its fingers shot in her direction. Instead of dodging she cut them off and evaded its next attack.

She looked at the Awakened Being. It stood on a rooftop and looked at her smiling. "You are far better than your rank indicates. Your first attack even cut me." Surprised Nila saw that on its right shoulder was a thin cut. A bit purple blood dripped from it.

"What a pity that I have to kill you! You could have been a single-digit!" it said sounding almost sad.

"Thanks for reminding me, what I will miss!" she said sarcastically and jumped. Nila landed next to it and with tremendous speed she swung her claymore. It was evading and dodging her strikes. "_Die! Die! Die! Die!_" Nila thought growing frustrated. "You look cute, when you are fighting so desperately" the monster said smiling "Actually you are quite pretty for a half-Yoma." Suddenly it disappeared. Nila turned around and not a second too early. She blocked its attack only inches before her face. The warrior leaped backwards.

A split second later the monster was beside her. Its fingers shot towards her chest. Nila blocked them with her sword and tried to push them back. "You also look very delicious" it stated "Perhaps I should play with you after our fight. Who is to know? Your screams might be even more entertaining than your attempts to kill me." "How tempting it may sound, I prefer to die quickly" Nila answered and finally managed to push it back.

Again its fingers shot towards her head. This time she dodged. But she felt how a tiny scratch appeared on her cheek. "_Shit! You've got to give more, Nila! It's just messing with you now. Trying to tire you out! Release your Yoki!_" She released about 8 percent of her Yoki. It wasn't enough to change the colour of her eyes, but it made a difference. She focused it in her legs. Then she jumped and appeared behind it. And with all her strength she tried to take its head. It jumped away, but…then both saw something they hadn't expected. Purple blood gushed and Nila could see that she had just cut off the Awakened Being's arm and a part of its torso.

The monster just stared at its lost limp. Nila used this short moment and ran to it. And within a split second she had cut off the second arm. The creature screamed in pain. Then again she swung her blade and tried to cut off its head. The monster was fast enough to evade the attack, but on its neck appeared a cut. The Yoki-release had paid off.

Nila looked surprised at the injured Awakened Being. Was she just winning this battle? No! No, she wasn't! She couldn't! It still hadn't transformed! This battle was far away from over. It was playing with her.

"You are quite good. Very good indeed, but I can't let you win, although I would really like to. You are such a promising young warrior! It's really a waste!" it said. Its eyes turned golden and veins spread across its body. Quite fast its body transformed. Nila could only watch. "_Damn! So much Yoki energy! I have never felt something this powerful before! Even if I release 80 percent I won't be able to match that!_" she thought desperate.

Now a huge creature stood in front of her. It looked like a giant snake, but it had several tails with sharp blades at the end of them. It had two long arms with claws, which were two meters long. Its face was still mostly human, although the skin was now dark purple. This beast was more frightening than everything she had ever seen before.

"To force me into this form is quite a feat. You can be proud of yourself!" it said. Its voice was now very deep and it had a gurgling sound. "_No, this can't be happening!_" she thought desperate and trembling "_I don't want to lose! I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" _Suddenly she felt how all her thoughts vanished. For a second her head felt pleasantly light. But only a moment later, new thoughts came up in her and with them bloodlust. With a strange clarity she looked at the monster and felt how she reduced her Yoki level to nothing. All the fear was gone and only the will to kill the Awakened Being was left.

"_Kill…Kill..it…KILL!"_

Then its right arm moved down. Nila gripped her sword tighter and met his blow with her sword. And she pushed the arm back.

"Huh? How did you do that?" the Awakened Being asked surprised.

"I simply parried your attack. It was nothing special really."

"Well, seems like I underestimated you. It won't happen again." Now all of its tails headed in her direction. Nila evaded the first attacks but the last ones were cut to shreds by her.

"All your tails are so annoying! Don't they distract you too? I'm sorry, but I have to cut off all of them! I can't focus while they are swinging around like crazy" the warrior stated. Then her sword moved through the Awakened Being's flesh. A few seconds later all of its tails were parted from its main body.

"You little…" but before it could finish its sentence Nila sliced off its arms. The purple blood gleamed in the last rays of sunlight.

Shocked Warren looked at the warrior who stood before him. Her silver eyes were cold and the smile that was on her face was frightening. He just looked at her and realised that in front of him, stood a monster. A monster that was so much stronger than him. A monster that was stronger than everything he had seen before. Could it be possible? Was it possible that it wasn't her who didn't stand a chance? That it was him who had been outmatched all along?

"Oh my! Is that fear in your eyes?" the warrior said smiling "Or am I imagining things? I suppose you are not as strong as you thought you are. But I feel generous right now. I'll do this quickly." She raised her sword "Farewell, Warren!"

A grin appeared on her face. And this cold grin made the monster tremble. She jumped. It tried to evade or to resist, but she was too fast! At the beginning of the battle she hadn't been this fast, but she had slowly increased her strength and speed and now it just couldn't keep up with her. It felt how her claymore moved through its neck. How the cold metal sliced through its flesh. And then…only darkness.

…

Nila looked for a while at the cadaver. The reek of it filled the air, but this smell caused her even more joy. She had killed it! She, all alone, had killed the former Number 4! And the only injury she had obtained during the battle was a tiny little scratch on her cheek, which had already disappeared. Again a pleased smile appeared on her face. How wonderful she just felt! Awakening couldn't be better. "Orsay will be quite surprised! That I survive this fight is something he would have never expected! I can't wait to tell this Elisha! She won't believe me!" Nila said happily.

The only thing that bothered her was the feeling she had had during the battle. Like the last time she had fought against an Awakened Being a strange clarity and numbness had overcome her. She had wanted to chop this creature to shreds to make it suffer the most horrible pain. Honestly, she had felt like…like…a monster. The bloodlust had taken over all her thoughts and even her actions. The warrior shook her head. Worrying about that wouldn't help her and the monster was dead after all. There was nothing to complain about.

She looked at the battlefield. Nearly every house around the market place had been destroyed, but the houses further away were mostly undamaged. This village had suffered only minimal damage for an Awakened Being of this calibre. Pleased she stretched her arms and sighed content.

"Now it's time to find a place to rest…What? Who is this?" Nila said suddenly and turned her face to the east. There was something. She could clearly sense the presence of another warrior. Nila didn't recognize the aura. What was this warrior doing in her territory? Angry she clenched her fists. She hated it when someone else than her was in her territory. Other warriors should mind their own business.

"_Let's find out who this warrior is…_" she thought and ran to the unfamiliar presence. It took her not very long to get there. The warrior was at the top of a cliff. He seemed to barely register her. She approached him. Suddenly the figure disappeared. "Huh?" but a split second later she turned around and parried the attack of the unknown warrior. However, she couldn't see the warrior, because he was now moving so fast that he disappeared from her field of vision. Again and again, one second after the other the warrior attacked. His moves were faster than everything she had experienced before. But luckily she was able to block every attack.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my territory?" she asked angrily. Then their swords met again. This blow had been stronger than the other ones. Fortunately this warrior wasn't as strong as he was fast, so she had no problem blocking the attack. Finally she could see him. His features were soft and his eyes were so…so incredible, extremely silver! They were almost glowing. His dark blond hair fell into his face. His face was clear of emotions, but the expression in his eyes scared her. Emotionless eyes, yet there was cruelty lurking behind this listless expression. Surprised she realised that he was left-handed; this was quite rare among warriors. Who was this guy and why was he attacking her?

Suddenly she saw that he wore a long cape. The cape of a single-digit! "Oh shit!" she hissed. Nila pushed him back and tried to leap backwards, but within a second he was beside her. Only due to the fact that she foresaw this move she was able to leap to the side. "I don't know who of the single-digits you are, but I want to know why in the name of the gods you are attacking me!" Nila said loudly. His last attacked had been meant to take her head. It had even scratched her armour a little.

She sensed that he wanted to attack. Nila prepared herself. She foresaw his movement and jumped to the side, but she felt that the sword strike had cut something. Nila waited for the moment when her blood splashed from a wound, but nothing happened. Then she saw strands of her almost white hair lying on the ground. Shocked she touched with her left hand the back of her head. This warrior had cut off her hair. Not a single strand was now long enough to touch her shoulders. Her beautiful and long hair was gone! Her hair, of which she had been so incredibly proud of, had been cut. It took her some moment to digest that.

Then she felt how the anger rose in her chest! "You little bastard cut my hair!" she hissed. Her eyes turned golden. "You! Cut! My! Hair!" Nila nearly shouted. She felt how her growing anger transformed into power and veins appeared on her face. Nila felt how her teeth became pointed. It had been a long time since she had released 30 percent of her Yoki, but to be honest, when Nila was really pissed off she couldn't prevent herself from releasing some of her Yoma-power. "I'm going to chop off your fucking arm for that!" she yelled. She ran towards him. He dodged, but she had seen that coming. In no time she was behind him. She swung her blade towards his arm. The warrior blocked it, but he got blown away by the force of Nila's strike.

He looked at her a bit surprised, but not intimidated. He looked more curious now. "What a strong warrior you are. But quite hot tempered. Maybe I should get serious and see how far you can go. Releasing so much power seems to be no problem to you. I haven't seen someone till now who was able to release so much power without even scratching his limit."

But then, before Nila could fly at his throat, suddenly a familiar voice said "2, stop that! You weren't ordered here to kill her." Now she could see Orsay. Nila's eyes returned back to their original colour and the veins disappeared. "_Perfect timing!_" she thought bitter. Her handler was again smirking. Oh how she hated the look of his face!

Then her eyes widened and she looked at the warrior in front of her. "N..nu…Number…2?" she whispered unbelieving. This warrior was the Number 2 of the organisation? "_But his aura is not as nearly as powerful as I expected a Number 2 would be…Wait! He is hiding his true power beneath a weaker layer! On the outside he feels normal but on the inside…Damn! He's incredibly powerful! And I nearly got myself into a battle against him! How careless of me not to sense his true strength at the beginning!_

"I know. I just wanted try her. She put up quite a show down there and that made me curious. I wouldn't have hurt her…seriously" the warrior responded listless, but Nila could see that he was disappointed that their fight had been interrupted. Orsay sighed "It's always the same with you, Rigaldo. Like always you are unable to measure strength without fighting." Then he turned his face to Nila. "So you have completed the job?" Number 13 took a deep breath and said "Yes. The former Number 4 has been killed." She put her sword into the holster and felt again the absence of her hair. "_Bastard!_" she thought.

"You mean slaughtered. There wasn't much left of the monster when you lopped off its head" the Number 2 added.

Nila glanced at him. "_Arrogant ass!_" she thought angry. "Good to hear. I didn't expect you to finish the job so quickly" Orsay answered.

Now Nila turned her face to her handler. "You mean you didn't expect me to survive. It was an unbelievable foolish idea to send a 13 alone to kill an awakened Number 4! I'm surprised myself that I was able to win."

Orsay grinned. "It was quite a fair battle, 4. Actually the points were in your favour.

"Very funny! A former Number…" she started, but fell silent again. "_What did he just call me?_" "Did you just say "4"?" Nila asked with her eyes wide open.

"Oh did I forget to mention your promotion at our last meeting? No, I think you misunderstood something. I said the new Number 4 was assigned to an Awakened Being hunt. I thought it was clear whom I meant. And you left so early that I couldn't even give you your new cape."

Her handler tossed the white fabric to her. Without a word she caught it. She just couldn't believe it! She was the new Number 4! She was now a top ranking warrior! Nila was so incredible proud of herself right now! "_I've made it! I'm a single-digit now!_" she thought happily.

"What about Elisha? Has she been promoted too?" the new Number 4 asked Orsay.

"Yes, indeed. As the new Number 5 it was her duty to kill the former Number 5, Roger."

"Alone, I suppose" Nila said cold.

"Of course" Orsay answered.

"Hmpf…" Nila turned her head away. "_Elisha, we did it! We really did it! I can't wait to finally see you again!_"

"So…what's he doing here?" Nila asked after a while and pointed at the other warrior. She didn't like the fact that the Number 2 had spied on her.

"Rigaldo was sent here to observe your battle and…" she interrupted Orsay and said "…and to handle the situation in case I screw up. Nice to know that you can send a spy, but not back up! But of course as a top ranking warrior I don't need any help." She said the last part sarcastically.

The Number 4 looked at him and said "You know you could have introduced yourself like normal warriors do instead of cutting my hair."

"That wouldn't have been fitting for an introduction between top-ranking warriors. Besides this new hair style suits you" he answered and she could swear that she saw a faint smile on his lips.

Her Yoki level rose from 0 to 9 percent for a second. "_I'm going to fucking kill you, you damn Bastard!_" she thought, while she suppressed her Yoki again. "As a male warrior I doubt that you know much about fashion" Nila responded. Now she smiled. "But I still owe you a cut off limb. I will repay my depth as soon as possible."

"Why not now? If you think you can cut off my arm, go ahead" Rigaldo answered.

"I'm terribly sorry, but right now I have better things to do like heading to my new territory. Isn't that right, Orsay?" she asked her handler.

"Indeed" he answered and his stupid grin got even brighter.


	13. Insanely Strong

_**Insanely Strong**_

* * *

_3 months later_

"What is it that you want to show me, Ermita?" a tall warrior asked his handler from behind. His light blond hair was short and spiky and moved slightly in the wind. He was looking at his handler a bit annoyed. Why couldn't he just tell him instead of wasting his time?

They stopped on top of a small cliff. The sun was about to rise and in the east the sky was already slightly pink. "It is something you have to see with your own eyes" the man in black clothing answered. He pointed down the cliff. The warrior came closer to the edge. "Please, it can't be this unbelievable that you can't tell me wha…What…in the name…of the gods…?" he whispered shocked. Twenty meters below his feet he could see a kind of battlefield he had never seen before.

Once there had been a forest of that he was sure, but now all trees had been cut down or crushed. Everything had been destroyed, but that wasn't the thing that shocked him. He saw about five or six cadavers of Awakened Beings. He couldn't be sure how many there actually were, because every single one of them had been literally cut to pieces. "Who…did…this?" he asked his eyes still widened in shock "Was this Rigaldo or Isley?" This bloodbath looked like one of theirs. Rather like Rigaldo's. Isley preferred to finish his jobs with less bloodshed. But neither of them should be able to do something like that.

Ermita beside him answered calm "No, those warriors weren't even close to this battlefield." The new Number 4 and 5 killed them. They were assigned to kill an Awakened Being that was devouring people in a nearby village. Apparently there were a few more."

"What ranks did those Awakened Beings have?"

"I believe most of them were in the twenties."

"Those two warriors killed multiple Awakened Beings without any support?" he asked. There was fear in his voice.

"Yes. And according to my knowledge both of them did this without any Yoki-release."

"They can do something like that without using Yoki?" the warrior asked shocked "What kind of monsters are they?"

"Right now those two are the organization's most useful warriors. Their power rivals Isley's, they follow orders and unlike every other top-ranking warrior they are capable of teamwork" his handler answered.

"And why…haven't they already replaced Isley and Rigaldo when they are so unbelievably strong?"

"You see we don't want to risk an awakening of Isley or Rigaldo. That would be a catastrophe. So we let them keep their ranks. But the organization considers them as powerful as Isley and treats them as such."

"Why did you show me this? Why do you inform me about those two warriors?" the blond man asked.

"Because you have been assigned to a hunt with one of them" his handler replied.

"Why? When they can do something like that alone, you don't have to…"

"It has been decided, Joel. You will be Number 4's backup along with two other warriors."

"I hate working with top-ranking warriors. They don't give a fuck about their team-mates. They let the monster kill their fellow warriors and then finish the Awakened Being off alone. I only survived the hunt with Rigaldo because I'm a single digit myself. And with Isley it wasn't much better" Joel answered angry.

It was a well known fact that the three top-ranking warriors didn't care about lower ranked warriors. They let them die without interfering at all.

"This top-ranking warrior is a bit different. I don't think you will have any problems" Ermita stated. Joel looked at his handler for a while then he asked "Do I have to know anything else about this warrior?" For some moments there was silence then the man answered "Yes, there is something you should know. We found out that unlike Number 5, Number 4 isn't exactly mentally stable."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"This warrior has…how to put this…a split personality. Number 4 is very polite and nice on the outside, but…"

"But what?"

"Let's just say we found out that this warrior has some Awakened Being qualities. Number 4 has a killer instinct that is out of the ordinary and has a sadistic nature. Till now only Number 5 has been able to talk with this warrior in a normal way."

"What do you mean by "a killer instinct that is out of the ordinary"?"

"Number 4 doesn't care who or what the target is. Warriors, Yomas, Awakened Beings…it's all the same for this warrior. I doubt that Number 4 would have problems killing Number 5 when it is necessary, despite the fact that those two are close friends."

"So he's a monster? He just kills what gets in his way?"

"If we order Number 4 to get rid off something, Number 4 does it without any complains or questions. This quality has proven to be very useful to us. Very useful indeed."

"What about his sadistic nature? What do you mean by that?"

"Look at those Awakened Beings. They suffered incredible pain before they were killed. And warriors who make the mistake to insult or provoke Number 4 end also up in a very bad condition."

"What?"

"Just do not provoke this warrior or it will end badly for you. A Number 14 did that and only because he's a defensive warrior he is still alive. It wasn't a very nice sight. Be nice to Number 4 and I guarantee you that not a single warrior of this hunting party will die."

"So this warrior can do as he pleases as long as he's useful to the organization?" Joel asked slightly angry and also a little bit afraid.

"You shouldn't worry about such things. Meet the other warriors in the town to your east" his handler simply answered "And be careful. We don't want any accidents, do we?"

* * *

_Meanwhile_

* * *

"Seriously? A Yoma-Nest and an Awakened Being? And for that you assign a full hunting party?" Nila said, while leaning against her Claymore "I can handle this alone. They will only get in my way." Orsay stood a few meters to her left. His face was hidden by the shadows. "They won't. One of them is a single-digit and the others are Number 10 and 11" he stated. The female warrior blew some strands of her hair out of her face. Her almost white hair was now long enough to touch her shoulders. She wore it loose.

"Ranks don't help me to judge their strength. I need names and their techniques if they have any."

"Their names are Earthquake Joel, James and Nicholas the Awakened One." She raised her eyebrows when she heard the last name.

"The Awakened One? What kind of nickname is that?" Nila asked.

"You will find out as soon as you meet him" Orsay answered "The town is in the west. Three days from here." He turned around, but then he said suddenly "And Nila. Control your temper this time. Number 14 still hasn't fully recovered."

"It's not my fault that you send me an asshole as backup. He deserved it. And he didn't suffer permanent damage. I went easy on him. If he would have been an offensive warrior I wouldn't have done it anyway. But don't worry I'll leave your precious warriors unharmed" she answered smiling.

"You should be careful. Even top-ranking warriors can't do as they please" he warned her before he left.

"Oh can't they?" Nila whispered silently and watched the sunrise.


	14. Yoma Nest

**_Yoma Nest_**

* * *

Nila looked at the small town in front of her. She could see the small houses and even a little church. The buildings were not overly luxurious but nice and clean. She could hear some animals and the voices of humans. In the streets were people living their normal lives. It was a normal town…or at least it seemed liked one.

The Number 4 closed her eyes. "_There are…212 Yoma in this town. None of them seems to have a strong Yoki-level. Only ordinary Yomas. How boring! …And my "backup" is still not here. Letting your Captain wait doesn't make a good impression. Well, can't be helped. At least one of them is a single digit._

_However I guess I could start this without them. But…they should have fun too, shouldn't they. I think I will spare some Yomas so they can play with them. Just an Awakened Being isn't much fun and it will be surely entertaining to watch."_

Nila ran her fingers through her hair. Then she drew her claymore and even though she had been two hundred meters away from the city she entered the town three seconds later. All heads turned to her. She could hear how their heartbeats sped up.

"So…who is brave enough to be the first one?" Nila asked smiling and a wave of fear spread through the Yoma when they felt her enormous Yoki-aura emitting from her body. "No one? Oh come on! I have to pick the first one? If you want it that way…" she said silently. Then she looked at the people to her right. Her smile got brighter. "Well, let's begin our little game" and then the cries of Yomas mixed with the sound of a swinging blade.

…

"How many, James?" Joel asked his fellow warrior. The small warrior frowned. Then he answered "About 100. There could be more, but they are all so crowded that I can't tell you the exact number. At least I don't sense any Awakened Beings nearby." James let out a relieved sigh. "Perhaps our information was wrong. Maybe we just have to kill ordinary Yoma" the Number 10 suggested. His blond curls moved in the soft breeze.

Then they heard the sound of clinking armour. "My handler told me that we have to get rid off the Yomas and the Awakened Being" a third warrior said from behind. His short hair was messy and dark blond with a hint of red. His look was thoughtful.

"Glad you're finally here, Nicholas" the Number 9 said and smiled at him "Took you long enough." It was obvious that this was the meeting of old friends.

"It's also nice to meet you again, Captain" the Number 11 answered "Good to see you too, James."

"How are you, Nicholas? Haven't seen you for a while" the small warrior asked.

"I'm fine, thanks. I was a bit busy. My territory was nearly overrun by Yomas. But nothing serious" Nicholas replied politely.

James stretched his arms. Then he asked Joel "So who's the forth member, Captain? He's a bit late."

"I'm not your Captain for this hunt" the single-digit answered and looked at the town. He frowned. This fact seemed to be bothering him.

"What? Two single-digits in one hunt?" James said unbelieving "How strong do they think is this Awakened Being?"

"Do you know who it is, Joel?" Nicholas asked calm.

The Number 9 sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Number 4. We are going to fight along side Number 4."

"Wow! A top-ranking warrior? Well, that's something! Do you know his name? Warren was killed and replaced by him according to my knowledge" James responded more curious than intimidated by this news.

"No, I don't know his name or his emblem. My handler just told me that he will be the leader of this hunt" the Number 9 answered.

"To kill an Awakened Number 4…Man, this dude has to be powerful!" James said more to himself than to the others. He was obviously impressed by this fact.

Nicholas looked at Joel for a while then he asked "You look worried. Why?"

Instead of him James answered "You know how he is. He thinks that top-ranking warriors let their comrades die in battle."

"They do! I've seen it" Joel said angry.

"You don't even know him! Perhaps he's not a monster like the others" James replied.

Joel rolled his eyes. "I've heard about him and believe me he's even a bigger monster. Ermita told me that he's mentally instable."

"You mean as dumb as Dauf?" Number 10 asked.

"No, as sadistic and cruel as an Awakened Being" Joel answered.

"You've never ever met him before, but you know for sure that he's like that?" James said and rose his eyebrows "Do you know the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Most of us are so freakin' weird, because of some traumatic event in our childhoods. Can't blame him for that."

"You are too kind-hearted for your own good, James. Top-ranking warriors are monsters. To possess this kind of power you have to be one. But that doesn't excuse beating up a lower ranked warrior" Joel answered and clenched one of his fists.

"Beating up a lower ranked warrior? What do you mea…" James started, but was cut off by Number 11.

"Forgive me to interrupt your discussion, but shouldn't we move on? We have to kill the Yomas in this town" Nicholas said sounding slightly listless.

James jerked his shoulders. "Yeah, we should. I hope our Captain shows up soon. I hate waiting."

"It would be better if he wouldn't come" Joel stated and started walking to the town.

"Sure. Because just the three of us can handle an Awakened Being" James responded and rolled his eyes.

"I agree. If the Awakened Being was as a warrior above the rank of thirty we don't have the necessary power to kill it. Back up is needed for this mission" Nicholas answered.

"You could just say that I'm right, without sounding like a machine" James said and looked at Number 11 a bit irritated.

"Give it up, James. That's the way he talks. You can't change it" Joel answered.

"Still he could at least show some emotions" Number 10 mumbled. The three warriors sped up their pace and headed to the town entrance.

…

Nila turned her head to the south. "Look who finally decided to join us" she said to the Yoma corpses around her "I should get a good spot to watch them. I don't want to miss the show." The woman looked at the cadavers around her. "_Disgusting_" was her only thought.

"Oh, it seems like they haven't sensed me till now. Good. This will be a nice surprise." She removed the blood from her sword and headed to the other warriors. "Let's find out how long it is going to take them to find me" she said amused and disappeared into the streets.

…

James jumped and split the last Yoma into two pieces. The purple blood gushed and some drops landed on his face and his armour. "Hey, watch it!" Joel scolded. Some blood had also landed on him. "Oh come on! It's just blood" Number 10 responded grinning and removed the blood from his sword "It's not like there hasn't been blood on you before." The single-digit gave him a glare. "Ohh I'm soo scared!" James said jokingly.

Joel just rolled his eyes. To tell the Number 10 something about respect was wasted energy. "Hey, Nicholas! Are you alright?" James asked loudly. The Number 11 was standing twenty meters away from them. He was surrounded by many cadavers. All of them chopped to bits. Most of his body was covered in purple blood. He nodded. "I am unharmed. What about you? Have you obtained injuries?" Number 11 asked, while walking to them.

"We? Please! We are Number 9 and 10. It takes more than Yomas to kill us" James answered. Nicholas didn't say something in return. Suddenly James asked "Didn't you found it strange too that those Yomas looked absolutely terrified when we entered the town? I mean not the usual scared. They looked like they would be scared to death by us."

"Now that you mention it, it was somehow strange" Joel answered thoughtfully "And all of them were crowded in one half of the town. It felt like they would be avoiding the other half."

"Why should they?" James asked a bit confused.

"There's another warrior in this town" Nicholas said out of the blue. The Number 9 was looking at Nicholas, while James was trying to sense the foreign aura.

"What? Where?" Joel wanted to know surprised.

"Seriously? You can't sense him?" James asked unbelieving "He's right over there." He pointed into one direction.

"And why didn't you tell me sooner?" the single-digit asked slightly angry.

"Because all the Yoki-auras of the Yomas made it nearly impossible to sense a sole aura. Additionally this warrior is suppressing his Yoki partly" Nicholas explained.

"Making it for us, you know warriors who can actually sense Yoki, quite hard to detect him" Number 10 said teasingly. Even though Joel was a single-digit, his Yoki-sensing abilities were really extraordinary bad. He could tell a Yoma apart from a human but that was it. And James found that ridiculously entertaining.

"And?" Joel asked impatiently "Do we know him?"

"No, at least I don't" James responded and frowned. Then he grinned. "But this dude is weak. Honestly weak. Can't be above 20. Probably someone in the low twenties."

"Nicholas, do you agree?" Number 9 asked. For some moments he was silent then he answered "I agree, but I think that he's a bit stronger."

"Do you sense his aura? He's ridiculous" James said and rolled his eyes.

"May I remind you that you also started as a low ranked warrior? Number 30. Does it ring a bell?" Joel responded and a smile played on his lips. James jaw dropped then he said angry "You shut up! They just measured my strength wrong back then."

"Yeah, sure" Joel stated.

"You are an asshole!" James growled.

"Come on. Let's see who this warrior is" Joel suggested and started walking.

"Ähm…Joel. Wrong direction" James said and raised his eyebrows.

"What?" Joel answered slightly flustered.

"And that's supposed to be a single-digit" Number 10 mumbled and headed into the right direction.


	15. Surprisingly Female

_**Surprisingly Female**_

* * *

James first reaction was "What the fuck? That's a woman!" The female warrior looked at him obviously unimpressed by his behaviour. Her silver hair slightly touched her shoulders and in the sunlight it looked almost white. Her features were sharp and her eyes were almond-shaped, but despite that she looked nearly sweet. She wasn't wearing her armour. She sat cross-legged on a rock. Her armour was on the ground to her right and her claymore stuck in a rock behind her. Joel had to admit that she was quite attractive.

"A woman! She's one of us and yet…a woman!" the Number 10 said sounding more and more shocked "Do you see that, Joel? A woman!"

The female warrior raised her eyebrows, but remained silent. But her expression made it quite clear that she found James reaction ridiculous.

"We see that. Calm down!" Joel said slightly annoyed, but the single-digit was shocked himself. That there was a female warrior was more than just a surprise.

"But Joel…that's…that's a woman!" James answered. He was obviously not calming down.

"You must be the warriors who killed the Yomas in this town. I'm happy to meet you" the female warrior said. Her voice was soft and sweet. "I assume that you three are part of a hunting party?" she asked, while taking a closer look at the warriors.

"Why…ähm…yes, we are" Joel stuttered. Talking to a female warrior was really something that made him…nervous. "Is there any chance you might have seen a top-ranking warrior nearby? He's our fourth member, but he's quite late" the single-digit asked. Perhaps this lower ranked warrior knew where he was.

She tilted her head curiously. Then a soft smile spread across her lips. "No, I haven't seen a top-ranking warrior in the local area. I haven't sensed anything powerful here either. But my range isn't that large. Maybe the warrior you're looking for is already fighting the Awakened Being? I heard that all of the top-ranking warriors are capable of slaying one alone. Why should someone this strong wait for lower ranked warriors, who perhaps might even get in his way?" she explained in an innocent voice.

"Hey, do you know who you're talking to?" James asked obviously angry. Her question had been quite disrespectful, especially for someone who was this weak. "We are Number 9 to 11! Someone like you shouldn't be talking this shit around your superiors!" the small warrior said growing more and more furious. "Someone like me? What do you mean by that?" the female asked.

"A low-ranked warrior!" James answered "You should know your place!" Joel glanced at him for a second. She had been disrespectful, but the Number 10 shouldn't be so easily insulted. The female warrior blew some strands out of her face and said softly "I guess, you're asking for respect. Am I right?" she stood up "To my knowledge respect is something you have to earn. It's not something you just get."

Then the woman looked at the three men. Now her expression was different. Earlier it had been friendly but now it was just arrogant. "And someone who is this weak doesn't get respect from me anyway" she added in a cold voice. Their jaws dropped. How could she dare saying something like that?

"I was watching you, while you were fighting and honestly your show was pretty lame. I can't believe that one of you is supposed to be a single-digit. I mean just look at you. You're covered in Yomablood. So disgusting! And the smell…" she explained and looked at them. Before James or Joel could respond anything, Nicholas said in a slightly angry tone "You have been here the whole time while we were fighting, yet didn't even think of joining the battle?"

"I know. It was unnecessary. To find out how strong you really are I have to try you myself. There's no other way I'm afraid. This _low-ranked _warrior is going to show you your place" she answered sweet and from one second to the other a grin appeared on her face. The grin of a killer.

With tremendous speed she had picked up her sword and within a heartbeat she stood in front of Nicholas. He was able to meet her strike, but was blown into a nearby house by the sheer force of the attack. "Nicholas!" James yelled shocked. She turned her head to him. "Relax. He's a defensive warrior. He will recover within moments" she responded. A split second later she was behind James. "But I can't say the same about you." "You…!" he started, but was cut off by her attack. He was able to defend himself for some strikes, but then he got kicked away. He crashed some meters away into the ground.

Without hesitation she attacked Joel. The single-digit dodged as fast as he could. He was able to evade her first attacks. "_What the hell?_" Joel thought "_James said that she was probably in the low twenties! But…I can barely hold my own against her! She is so fast!_" Suddenly she said smiling, while she was parrying with his attacks without breaking a sweat "You must be _Earthquake Joel_. Number 9 of the organization. You are a bit faster than the other two. Still…I'm wondering what makes you a single-digit. Would you mind showing me the technique of yours? I can't wait to see where you got that nickname from."

He felt how anger rose in his chest. This woman didn't even consider him as a serious opponent. She was looking into his eyes. The female warrior smiled slightly. Her silver eyes were in a weird way beautiful. Not sharp and frightening like the eyes of the male warriors. They were somehow soft and gentle. Deep silver eyes surrounded by long eyelashes. She tilted her head, while he was trying to push her sword back. "Give it up" she said still smiling "With strength alone you cannot defeat me."

Suddenly she frowned for a second. Then the female warrior said surprised "Oh…now I see. The Awakened One indeed." She leaped to the side and landed a few meters away. Curiously she looked at the two blade shaped bones, which were stuck in the ground where she had been just a few moments ago. Then she looked at Nicholas. He was panting and his face was disfigured by veins. His golden eyes were shining brightly. "Your heightened regeneration allows you to develop extra bones, which you can use as weapons and as a defence if someone should get too close to you. A surprisingly offensive technique for a defensive warrior. And what a risk you take by using it! It brings you almost to the point of no return. Yet you manage to resist the rush. I have to admit that I'm…impressed" with one hand she wiped some strands of her hair out of her face "However, you seem to be far too exhausted now to fight at all." She sighed. "But what makes you Number 10 is still a mystery for me." Without even turning around she blocked James's attack.

"How is that possible?" he hissed. For a while he tried to push her back, but she was just holding against it, not even breaking a sweat. Some veins spread across James's arms. Then her eyes widened. "Ohh! Now I get it! Strength! That's your asset! I didn't realise it earlier, but you are far stronger than the other two regarding physical strength. Forgive me for not realising that, but my physical strength can be compared to the strength of an Awakened Being. I assume that you can even kill Yomas with your bare hands. I like that." With a single move of her sword she pushed James back. Then she appeared behind him and hit his back with her elbow. He crushed into a nearby wall. They could hear the sound of a cracking bone.

"Yet…brute strength alone doesn't win a battle. But I see in your fighting style that you are trying to compensate your lack of speed with your Yoki-sensing abilities. Or should I say Yoki-reading? You're quite clever to figure out that you can foresee your opponent's movements by reading his Yoki-flow. However, your skills are still raw and not sharp enough" she explained to the warrior next to her feet.

The female warrior slightly tilted her head to the right. Then she said in the sweetest voice the three had ever heard "What about you? Aren't you going to show me your technique? I would really like to see it! Please use it!"

Joel only stared at the woman. Even he could sense her enormous aura now. She was beyond any of them. What was she intending to do? She could have killed them on several occasions, yet she hadn't done it. What was she after?

She sighed. "I guess you would only use it if your life or the life of your comrades would be endangered. Of course I could do that right now" she moved the point of her sword dangerously close to James throat, who was still lying on the ground "Luckily for you I don't have to, to sense your power. You are all in all physically superior to your comrades and you have experience. And your special technique, whatever it is, plays a part in your fighting skills too."

James could see that a smile spread across her face. She looked…pleased. "All of you have the potential to move up in rank. You three are a nice combination of different qualities. I see why you have been assigned to this hunt."

"_This hunt? What does she mean by that?_" Joel thought. Then slowly she stuck her claymore in the ground. She put her right hand on the spot above her heart and said politely "I'm very honoured to meet the organization's Number 9, 10 and 11. I have been assigned to this Awakened Being hunt to guide you as your Captain. Forgive my rudeness and my gaucheness earlier, but this is my first full hunt as a Captain. I was unable to think of a better way to test your power. You may address me as "Captain" or "Nila". That's my name. Oh, and I'm the organization's Number 4."


	16. A Good Captain

_**A Good Captain**_

* * *

"_What shall we do about her? I mean how do we deal with her?_" James whispered into Joel's ear. The three male warriors were walking five meters behind the Number 4, who was leading them through a rocky area.

After their fight she had behaved like the politest and friendliest warrior of all time. Yet every time she had said something there was this slightly unsettling undertone. The three warriors found her very creepy. "_What do you mean by "how do we deal with her"? We will follow her orders and stay out of her way. She's a top-ranking warrior after all_" Joel answered whispering. Yes, that was what he was intending to do. Avoid every chance that could provoke this obviously superior warrior.

"You do realise that I can hear your every word?" the woman said softly. The eyes of the warriors widened in shock. She chuckled silently. "You don't have to look so scared. I like you. You have proven to be fine warriors. I won't do you any harm" she assured them. For some seconds there was dead silence.

"Which one of you has been informed about me?" she asked "Obviously you are quite afraid of provoking or disagreeing with me at all and not just because I'm a top-ranking warrior."

"My handler told me about you, Captain" Joel answered truthfully.

"Oh, is that so? That's why you look like you would wet yourself at any minute."

His jaw dropped.

"Relax. I'm only joking. But you do look afraid. Perhaps because I'm an insane warrior with the power of a monster?"

"Of course not!" James answered a bit too fast.

She smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. The sunlight was caught in it. It looked absolutely beautiful "Don't lie to me. That's exactly the reason why you are afraid, because I'm mentally unstable."

"Why do you…" Joel started but was cut off by her.

"Oh please. It's hard to miss those rumours the organization spreads about me. But I can't be mad at them. After all it's true. I am insane."

"You are what?" James asked shocked.

She stopped and turned around. On her face was a friendly smile and it seemed honest. "Insane. Mentally unstable. Disturbed or all the other things they say about me. I have to say that I prefer the term "monster". It sounds less…dumb and far more dangerous."

The other three didn't know how to respond to that. After some moments (or minutes) Nicholas managed to say "May I ask you why you believe you are insane?"

"Yes, you may" she answered kindly "I always like to answer questions, which are so politely and carefully worded." She stretched her arms. "How about we rest here? It's already late and if I have to tell you my whole life story it might take a while."

The men exchanged a few looks. Then they stuck their swords in the ground and leaned against them. "My! How obedient you all are!" the female said smiling. She sat down herself, but leaned against a tree instead of her claymore.

"So…you wanted to know why I agree with the organization."

Dead silence.

"Don't worry. I might be a bit mad but I'm not an Awakened Being. You have to know that a while ago I just wasn't able to handle the huge amount of power inside my body. My fear and doubts completely blocked my potential. It was quite inconvenient."

She sighed. Obviously she didn't like to remember how weak she had been in her earlier life.

"But I soon came to realise that there was something inside of me that was able to handle my power. That a side of me is strong and without any fear. And slowly but surely I acted more like this side of me. I became it. Now I'm determined, focused and absolutely deadly. Unfortunately that doesn't make me very social. I…am quite direct and I don't bother with unimportant things. Oh, and of course I can be dangerous for other warriors, but I guess you've already heard that."

"Why do you tell us all this so openly?" Nicholas asked "Something this private should only be shared by close friends."

She raised her eyebrows and then again she smiled. A warm smile. "The answer is very simple. Trust. For every mission trust is vitally important. If you don't trust your Captain, why should you trust his orders? I want this mission to be successful, so I make sure that you can trust me. I might be slightly crazy, but I'm a good Captain and an even better warrior."

She chuckled. "But which warrior isn't crazy?"

The three warriors remained silent. For an hour the sound of wind rustling through the trees was the only thing that could be heard. James, who had looked very impatient through the whole time, couldn't remain silent any longer. "How did you do it?" he asked the Number 4.

She raised her eyebrows. "How did I do what?"

"Your aura it was so weak. I thought you wouldn't be stronger than someone in the twenties."

"Oh, that. I must apologize. I shouldn't play such games with comrades" she crossed her arms behind her head "You see that's the only thing special I can do. You could call it my technique, but it's actually pretty useless. I can suppress my aura to a point where it can be easily mistaken for a weaker one. I appear weaker than I actually am. But I seriously don't need to fool my opponents. I cut down what gets in my way. That's all what I do."

"So much to superb sensing skills" Joel said silently to James. The Number 10 moved his hand to the hilt of his sword, when suddenly Nicholas, Nila and himself jumped up. "Shit! How did it come so close without us noticing?" James said tense. The female warrior stood in front of them and ordered harsh "Draw your swords! Joel you will be attacking with me! James! Nicholas! Try to cover us, but stay a bit behind. This Awakened Being is powerful! Joel!"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Is your technique capable of finishing off a monster of this kind?"

He nodded.

"Good. If you see a chance to kill it, take it!" Then suddenly she smiled "And don't forget: Use your Yoki only with my permission!"

…

Nila's right hand rested on the hilt of her claymore. At first she could only hear her comrades breathing. Then she heard wood cracking and the sound of a huge body moving towards them. The Yoki of the Awakened Being was powerful without doubt. "_A former single digit?_" Nila thought and drew her sword slowly.

Then she felt how the monster prepared its first attack. "Scatter!" she yelled and leaped to the side herself. Sharp tentacles hit the ground where the warriors had been standing just a second ago. She could hear the monster scream in anger.

Now she saw the Awakened Being. Its form reminded her of a cockroach. It looked pretty disgusting and the smell of its Yoki filled the air. She took one deep breath, drew her sword and then she jumped right in front of the Awakened Being. "I hope you're ready to die" Nila said kindly. The monster was drooling. "You shall be my first one to satisfy my hunger" it said heavily breathing. "We'll see about that" she answered.

Its claws shot towards her, with incredible speed. But one inch in front of her face they stopped. Her smile got brighter. "Too slow" she stated. Then the claws broke into small pieces. Nila raised her sword slightly. From one second to the other she was behind the Awakened Being. Purple blood dripped from her sword. Shocked the monster realised that half of its body was gone. "You…are going to pay for this!" it screamed, while its body was already regenerating.

The three other warriors now joined the battle. Nila silently admitted that they weren't even that bad. They held their own against this beast. "_They all have experience. Their movements are well coordinated and they know how to deal with a defensive Awakened Being. Orsay was right this time. They won't get in my way_" she thought pleased.

Suddenly she heard a scream. "James!" she yelled. Nila saw with shock that the monsters teeth were sunken into James's flesh. With one move of its head it could rip him apart. But before it could even move, Nila's sword had pierced through its right eye. Screaming the monster let James go. He would have crashed into the ground, if Nila hadn't caught him. Carefully she put him down. "Everything alright, James?" she asked. He looked at her surprised for some moments. Then he said "Y-Yeah, I think so." She smiled. "Good. Stay here and regenerate."

Nila was now standing in front of James. "You know if you had acted like a nice Awakened Being I would have given you a quick death, but hurting a comrade like this is simply unforgivable!" she tightened the grip around her sword "You will be punished for that!" She looked at Joel for a second. Nila could feel that he was gathering his Yoki in his arms and legs. He was preparing his technique. She had to keep the Awakened Being from noticing that.

She closed her eyes. "You know unlike other warriors I like showing my true powers. Personally I think that I look the most beautiful while my eyes are golden." The other warriors felt a draft and then they saw a flash of blue light. After that they sensed an overwhelming Yoki-aura. "Let's see how strong you really are!" she said grinning. Her golden eyes were shining brightly.

Within seconds she had cut off most of the monsters limbs. The Awakened Being was regenerating them as fast as it could, but Nila was destroying them as soon as the healing process started. The Number 4 landed on the back of the monster. "I wonder how hard your shell is" she stated. Then her sword met the back of the Awakened Being. The claymore moved through its body like there was no resistance at all. Purple blood stained the nearby trees and the ground.

"You…bitch!" the monster cursed and looked at Nila, who was standing in front of it again. "I think it's time we end this" she said smiling "I'm so excited! I can't wait to see it!" She looked into the sky. Confused the Awakened Being followed her look. Smiling she watched how Joel fell down again. He had jumped into the air while she had distracted the Awakened Being. He was gaining more and more speed. "_Hhm…He's not aiming at the monster. Interesting…I wonder how he's going to kill it_" she thought.

The Awakened Being didn't know what was going on, but it was ready to kill Joel while he was approaching the ground. Its claws shot towards the single-digit, but Nila didn't even bother to move. Nicholas had cut them off halfway. "And now it is too late for any counteractive measures" he said and looked at Joel.

Pleased she watched how Joel's sword hit the ground. The sound this collision made sounded like an explosion. The built up force of the strike sent a wave towards the Awakened Being. The ground was shaking and a gap in the earth was opening. With wide open eyes the monster saw the attack coming. In the moment where it hit it, a dust cloud kept the other warriors from watching the final moments of the Awakened Being.

After everything had settled Nila walked to the cadaver of the Awakened Being. The body had been literally ripped apart. Its entrails were spread all across the ground. She looked at the other destruction the attack had caused. It looked like the result…of an earthquake.

At first she chuckled and then she laughed. "Seriously! Don't you think you overdid it? I mean look at that. That's more destruction than the Awakened Being caused" Nila said to Joel. "He is just not very subtle" James said from behind "And he likes showing off." The Number 4 turned her head to him. "Yes, it seems like that. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm still alive." She smiled faintly. She removed the blood of her sword. "You know you should work on that technique. It's quite powerful. If you could do it faster it would certainly get you further up in the single-digits" Nila said cheerfully. Joel put his sword back into its holster. "Yes, I should improve it. Its lack of speed is a great disadvantage." "But apart from that great work. All of you" the top-ranking warrior replied "Seeing you during the battle makes me feel even guiltier for introducing myself in such a harsh way."

"You saved my life, Nila. We're more than even" James said. "Watch your mouth!" Joel scolded. "Oh, sorry! I meant Captain" he apologized quickly. The Number 4 rolled her eyes. "It's okay. I have a name so you can call me by it. I call you by your names. Why shouldn't you?" she said kindly.

The male warriors exchanged a few looks. Nicholas answered "Calling you Captain is a sign of respect. You are a top-ranking warrior and James and I are merely in the tens. We must express the difference in power and experience. Joel might be allowed to use your name, but he is the last one of the single digits so he should rather call you Captain too."

Again she silently chuckled. "Very well explained, Number 11. But you can call me Nila even though I'm a top-ranking warrior. I don't mind." Nicholas only nodded. Now Joel looked at her a bit thoughtful. "Is it okay if I ask you just one question?" he asked. "Of course. Go ahead and ask" she replied.

"Why did you let me kill the Awakened Being? You had more than just one chance to finish it" the single-digit said. Nila just leaned against a nearby tree and explained "I wanted to see your technique so I gave you a chance to use it. Additionally none of you was really in danger. I could play with it without endangering you. James only got hurt, because he bit a bit more off than he could chew, but I think he won't do it again. However, if the battle had been more demanding I would have lopped off its head without hesitating."

No one answered. Suddenly James said "Told ya you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, Joel!" Number 4 raised her eyebrows. "What does that mean?" Number 9 scratched the back of his head and admitted "He is referring to my opinion of top-ranking warriors." She tilted her head and asked "Your opinion?" "He thought that because you're a top-ranking warrior you would let the monster kill us all" James interfered.

"Why would I do that?" she asked and Nila was honestly surprised. She hurt other warriors if necessary, but basically killing them without a reason? She would never do something like that. "Well, it's just…" Joel said a bit hesitating "…it's just that the other top-ranking warriors I've met did that." "Who? Who did that?" she asked and her voice darkened. "The Number 1 to 3. _Silver King Isley, Rigaldo the Silver Eyed Lion King _and_ Bonecrusher Dauf_" James answered.

Nila frowned. "So when they lead a hunt, there aren't many survivors?" "Few if any survivors. Warriors ranked in the tens or lower have almost no chance" the single-digit answered. "Thank you for this information" she said silently "I guess this is your first hunt with a top-ranking warrior, where everyone survived." "My very first" he replied honestly.

She shook her head slightly. "We're done here. You can return to your territories. It has been a real pleasure fighting along side you and I hope that we will meet again in the near future." Joel nodded. "Yes. Till the next time."

Nicholas answered simply "Goodbye."

James grinned. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon." He ran his fingers through his hair. "And a little tip for your next hunt. Warn the other warriors. If they see it coming they won't mistake you for an insane killer."

Nila laughed silently. "I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye." And smiling she watched how the three warriors left.


	17. Preparing for Battle

_**Preparing for Battle**_

* * *

_A month later_

Two figures were running through a forest. In the darkness of the night they were barely more than shadows. With a kind of speed that was beyond the speed of humans and the speed of most Awakened Beings they ran towards their destination. After a few minutes one of the two broke the silence.

"Do you have a good explanation for this?" The voice sounded worried.

"No, I haven't. The best one I can give you is the explanation the organisation gave us, but you already know that it is most likely not a very true one." Both voices belonged to women and were undeniable beautiful voices.

"I know. Still…I have seen multiple Awakened Beings. 2, 3 and even 5…"

"So have I."

"But 10?"

"It is a high number and that is even an optimistic guess. The "Eye" said that all the Yoki made it impossible for him to get an exact number from this distance."

"Yes, I can imagine. But where did all the warriors come from? Those monsters appeared out of nowhere; however I didn't hear about ten warriors who awakened around the same time. Additionally I heard that all of them have the strength of an Awakened Being who was ranked in the tens. But to my knowledge most of the tens died in battle and didn't awaken, and of all the awakened tens was taken care of. And even if some escaped, there are never ever ten of them let alone more than ten! It just doesn't make any sense! Where did those monsters come from?"

"I don't know and this unanswered question bothers me as much as you, but there is something else that is strange."

"And that would be?"

"Why did those monsters join forces? The multiple Awakened Beings we've seen so far were together by mere coincidence. But they are obviously working together. Usually the Awakened Ones are too arrogant to work together."

"Questions over questions. And I fear we won't get a single answer. The only thing that is certain is our victory."

"Cocky as ever."

"Oh come on. They assigned the Numbers 1 to 5 as Captains and most of the other 15 warriors are above 30. How can we not win?"

"After what you told me about the other top-ranking warriors I can think of some reasons."

"Please. There will be some losses. There always are, but we are there too. We will keep them from killing all the lower ranked warriors."

"Since when are we two stronger than Number 1 to 3?"

"Since when aren't we?"

"Nila, your lack of respect for the higher ups will get you in trouble someday."

"Don't lecture me, Elisha. I know what I can do and I know what you can do. I assure you that each one of us is quite evenly matched with at least the Number 2, Rigaldo."

"Yet he managed to cut your hair."

"Shut up! That was a long time ago! Now we are as strong as him! I am absolutely sure!"

"But what if we are not?"

"Then we have a last triumph card."

"That would be?"

"He can go to 20 percent. We to 80. The odds are in our favour."

"Why are we even discussing if we are stronger than him or not? We just have to be stronger than the Awakened Beings so that we can protect the other warriors."

"You are a buzz kill! But you are right. Some Awakened Beings won't be a problem for us."

"I agree."

"Finally!"

* * *

…

* * *

Nila stopped and Elisha nearly bumped into her. "What's wrong?" the Number 5 asked. "Do you sense that?" The woman with the pointed ears remained silent for some moments. "Yes, now I do. We are late." The Number 4 looked at her incredulous. "That's all you got say about it? We're late? Ahead of us are probably the strongest auras we have sensed so far and all you say is that we are late?" "Well, we are late" Elisha answered "And their auras aren't that impressing." "I didn't say that they are impressive…" "Then why did you feel the need to stop?" Nila rolled her eyes. "Forget it! You won't get it anyway."

Now the two women were walking to other warriors. Nila was silently counting how many warriors had already gathered. "_Okay, all the top-ranking warriors are here and there are…7, 8, 9…9 lower ranked warriors here. That means there are only 6 warriors still left. _

"Nila?" the Number 5 asked.

"Yeah?"

"You are not seriously thinking of cutting off Rigaldo's arm, right?"

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Aren't you the one that always says that teamwork is everything? Besides chopping of someone's arm for your hair is a bit overreacted."

"I owe him that. And you know how I hate owing someone something."

"Just wait till the battles over, okay?"

"Alright, alright."

"Promise me!"

"Okay! I, Number 4 of the organization, promise you that I will wait till the battles over to kick Rigaldo's butt."

"Good."

"Hey, are you going to watch?"

"I will watch, but only to prevent him from killing you."

Nila looked at Elisha for some moments. Her serious look made the Number 5 feel a little bit uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" the woman with the ponytail asked. The white haired woman answered calm "I'm just surprised that you keep underestimating my abilities. If you have to prevent somebody from killing someone else this person will be me, not him."

Elisha shook her head. "How can you say something this ridiculous without laughing? You are Number 4 he's 2. There are worlds between you two." Nila smiled. "I know. That's why I'm going to chop off his arm." This time Elisha rolled her eyes. "Can we stop fighting now? We are already late." Nila just jerked her shoulders.

The women arrived at the place where the other warriors were waiting. The lower ranked warriors were gathering a few meters further away obviously avoiding contact with the three other warriors, which were closer to Nila and Elisha. The lower ranked warriors probably sensed the arrival of the women, but they stood behind some trees so the men couldn't see them. Otherwise they would be already whispering about the women like every other warrior who had seen those two.

The Number 4 immediately saw Rigaldo. He was sitting and leaned against his claymore. His eyes were closed, but she knew that he wasn't sleeping. Most likely he was ignoring the other two men. She had heard about Dauf and his brute strength, so she recognized him easily. The tall and broad man stood only two meters in front of them. His face and the expression on it proved the rumours about his nonexistent intelligence. Now Nila was looking at the Number 1. Isley was tall and a man who's appearance fit his rank. He had long white hair, very much like Nila's.

She sensed the strength of the three warriors even though they were hiding it quite skilfully. Each one of them was a monster, but to her surprise none of them was able to go above 25 percent. Yet she was sure that they didn't need to release even ten percent to win their battles. For a split second a smile played on her lips, when she realised that at least regarding Yoki-mass she and Elisha got the upper hand. However, that didn't make them necessarily stronger, so she stayed careful and she could feel that Elisha did that too.

"I apologize for the delay" Nila said politely "We didn't want to keep you waiting." Isley looked at them a bit surprised just as Dauf, but this expression just made him look even more dumb. "We have never met before. I am Nila, the Number 4 of the organization" she lowered her head for a second out of respect "and this is _Shadow Elisha_, the Number 5" her friend did the same "We are honoured to meet the top three warriors."

"Women?" the Number 1 asked a bit sceptical "Since when are women in the single-digits or warriors at all?" Nila opened her mouth to answer, but Rigaldo interfered. "Those two have replaced Warren and Roger. It seems that I forgot to mention that." Number 4 closed her eyes for a second and smiled. "You forgot to mention me? And I thought I left a mark." The man raised his eyebrows slightly. "You hair has grown a bit." A small smile played on her lips when she answered "Yes, it has. I intend to let it grow even more if you don't mind." He simply turned his head away and looked at the other warriors.

Isley looked at them closely not without Nila noticing that his look stopped at certain places. "So…" she started "Have you already thought about a special strategy for this battle? If you haven't we would be more than glad to assist you." Elisha next to her nodded. "Strategy? We'll just smash the Yomas" Dauf answered. The Number 5 replied with her usual listless look "What about the lower ranked warriors? For us top-ranking warriors it is easy just to fight and kill the Awakened Beings, even if there are so many of them. But the other warriors are not able to do that. What are you intending to do with them?"

Rigaldo jerked his shoulders. "I don't think we should waste too many thoughts on them. If they get killed in battle or not, is not our concern." "Well, it should be" Nila answered "We are single-digits. Our duty is to protect the warriors who are weaker than us." Isley looked at her a bit unbelieving. "We are here to kill the Awakened Beings not to play babysitters for lower ranked warriors." Elisha frowned and Nila clenched her fists. She felt the urge to draw her sword, but the Number 4 remained calm and said "If you don't want to pay attention to them then at least let me be concerned about them. Elisha and I will think of a strategy that will satisfy you and your needs in battle."

"If you want to waste your time" Isley said and his voice made it clear that he didn't give a fuck about them and what they would do. Nila couldn't suppress a sigh. "Good. Thank you for your permission, Number 1. Elisha, please come with me" the Number 4 said. She went to the lower ranked warriors. In the moment when the two women stepped in front of the men, every conversation ended and was replaced by surprised silence.

"Attention please!" Nila said loudly. She would be the one, who would do most of the talking, since Elisha preferred to remain silent. "Even though not all warriors have gathered here it is time to discuss our battle strategy. Firstly I want to thank you for leaving your respected territories and coming here. All the top-ranking warriors have been assigned to this hunt. I believe that the top three warriors don't need an extra introduction. However, I don't think that all of you know who the other top-ranking warriors are. My name is Nila and the warrior next to me is Elisha. We're Number 4 and 5."

The whispering started. Women AND top-ranking warriors? The news seemed to shock nearly everyone. "We have gathered here for a multiple Awakened Being hunt. Because of that we will split into five separate hunting parties. The Numbers from 1 to 5 will be operating as Captains of each unit. We will try to form teams with equal strength, but I will tell you one thing right away: Our chances of success are quite high; however there will be losses even with all top-ranking warriors gathered here. Prepare yourself to lose friends and comrades. The last thing I want to tell you is probably the most important thing. You all know that awakening during a battle of this kind is very likely. And I assure you that I completely understand that for some of you the rush is too tempting to resist. But I promise, no guarantee you that your head will hit the ground before you can even think of giving in to the ecstasy. Of course" she turned her head slightly to the top-three warriors "that counts for every warrior here."

Her smile got only brighter now. "Alright then. Now everything's settled I want to see who's already here and split them into five teams." She tilted her head. Nila proceeded. "Is there anyone of you who has never hunted an Awakened Being or is below the rank of thirty?" After some moments two warriors raised their hands hesitating. Number 4 smiled kindly. "Come forward and tell me your names and ranks."

Both of the men looked quite young. Extremely young. They looked like trainees. The one with the weaker aura had short hair and his soft face looked so innocent, not like a warrior at all. She could sense how nervous he was and she was certain that his hands were slightly shaking.

The other one looked slightly more confident. At least he was smiling faintly. Some strands of his silver hair fell into his face. He seemed to be slightly stronger.

The smiling warrior answered first. "My name is Gabriel. I'm Number 45, but I have been on two hunts till now." "_45? Why would the organization assign a warrior with such a low rank?_" Nila thought surprised, but also worried. She could hear the other warriors whispering about his low rank. Now the other one answered. "I'm…Vincent. I have never been on an Awakened Being hunt before. I'm…Number…47." Nila frowned for a second. The lowest ranking warrior? Here? For an multiple Awakened Being hunt?

"Gabriel, you'll be with Elisha. Vincent, you'll be on my team" she commanded. "_Someone ranked this low won't survive for a second in a hunt with the other top-ranking warriors. Seems like Elisha and I have to take care of them." _Both of them nodded.

"Is someone here who is not above the rank of 25?" Nila asked. Now three warriors raised their hands. "Come forward. Ranks and names" Elisha said silently and with her usual emotionless voice.

The three were 29 Markus, 28 Harrison and 26 Norbert. After some moments Nila said "Markus and Norbert to Elisha. Harrison, you'll be with me. Team Elisha is now complete. Remember your teammates well."

She crossed her arms in front her chest. "Well, now let's start at the other end. Are there any single-digits beside the top-ranking warriors?" Nila had clearly felt the presence of other single-digits. Two warriors came forward. One had a loose ponytail and pointed ears. The other one had short hair that was dark blond. A very unusual hair colour among warriors.

"Who…" Nila started, but was interrupted by Elisha. "Number 7, _Michael the Dreamer _and Number 6, _Alexander the Slashing"_ she introduced the single-digits, sounding nearly bored to death. Number 4 raised surprised her eyebrows, but smiled.

"Friends of yours?"

"Number 7 was the leader of my first hunt and I met Number 6 by mere coincidence in my territory."

"Ah, I see." Nila smiled brighter. A knowingly smile.

"Number 6 you'll be with Dauf. Number 7 with Rigaldo." Nila knew that putting two single-digits into one team was unusual. Very unusual and she saw that both of the single digits slightly raised their eyebrows. Number 4 only smiled.

"So…who are you two?" Nila asked the two remaining warriors. The weaker one answered first. He had silver hair and a beard; however for a male warrior he looked quite frail. "I'm Paul. Number 20." The other one was tall and broad and looked far more like a warrior than Paul. "My name is Leon. I'm Number 13." The white haired woman looked at the warrior who had taken her former rank. She sighed silently. "_How nostalgic, Nila!_"

"Number 13 to Isley. Number 20 Rigaldo" the woman ordered. She closed her eyes. "The teams will be completed, when the remaining warriors arrive." The woman started walking through the warriors. "Vincent. Harrison. Come with me" she said softly. Harrison followed her right away unlike Vincent who hesitated for a moment.

Nila looked at Elisha. Number 5 had a worried expression. Nila slightly pointed with her head at the three top-ranking warriors. Elisha nodded. The woman closed her eyes. Just like Elisha Nila knew that the biggest danger for those warriors weren't the Awakened Beings. No, the greatest danger for them were those three warriors.

* * *

…

* * *

The Number 4 had leaded the two warriors to a more secluded place. They were surrounded by trees and some rocks. "Even though our team is not complete yet I want to start testing your strength. I have to know what you are capable of" she explained softly. With her left hand she removed her shoulder armour and then her waist guard. "Remove your armour and then we get started" Nila added.

After one or two minutes the three warriors had taken off their armour. Both looked a bit nervously at her. She smiled softly. "I want that both of you come at me with all your strength and speed. Don't hold back" and to the surprise of the men she stuck her sword into the ground. "Captain? Why…why have you…" Vincent asked unsure. "Well, an Awakened Being doesn't fight with a sword. I want to see how you do against someone without a sword" she explained."

"Harrison, you first" Nila said. The man looked at the unarmed woman. "What are you lookin' at? Attack, 28!" she ordered impatient. He hesitated for a second then he leaped forward. "Well, you are a bit faster than expected" she commented. Harrison looked surprised at the warrior next to him. His sword had cut nothing but air.

He attacked. And attacked and swung his sword faster and faster, but he seemed to not even get close to hitting her. She evaded his attacks with supreme elegancy. The woman dodged his last attack by jumping into the air. She landed on a rock. "That's enough, Harrison" she said kindly. "_30 percent tops_" she noted in thoughts.

"47! It's your turn" Nila said. The young warrior raised his sword very slowly. He looked almost afraid of her. Eventually he started attacking.

Nila's first thoughts were "_Oh dear gods, he's awful!" _Vincent was everything what his rank promised. Extraordinary slow and weak. But at least he was doing his best. After five minutes Nila had enough. Vincent swung his sword and after a second he realized that the Number 4 had taken it out of his hands. "Thank you, but that's enough" she said trying to sound as polite as possible. She gave him his claymore back. "_Only 20 percent_" she thought and sighed "_This is going to be tougher than I thought._"

Nila stretched her arms. "This was a nice warm up, don't you think?" The men didn't look like they would agree. She took her sword and smiled. "How about we get serious?"

The rest of the next hours she spent sparring with the two. She had told them to work in a team to beat her. It was quite good considering that both had low ranks. Even Vincent seemed to fight better when he could rely on another warrior, but still… She was quite glad that she was so much stronger.

Then after four hours Vincent suddenly said "The other warriors are arriving." "Seriously? I don't sense something" Harrison answered and looked confused just like Nila, but that didn't mean anything. Her range was still ridiculously small. "How far away are they?" the top-ranking warrior asked. Vincent frowned. "Five maybe six miles." Nila raised her eyes slightly impressed. "Your range is that large?" she asked surprised. "Y-Yes, Captain." "Impressive. The "Eye" should watch his position" Nila replied. She wasn't sure, but she thought that Vincent had blushed slightly.

"So how strong are they IF you can sense them" Harrison asked. He obviously doubted that Number 47 was that superb at sensing Yoki. He closed his eyes. "Of the six warriors are…three quite strong. One a single digit and the other two in the high tens. Then someone probably in the low tens. A high twenty and a low one." "As soon as they enter my range I will check that. If you're right than I will tell the "Eye" on my next encounter with him that he should take a look at you" Nila said. Now she was sure. Vincent blushed. Harrison rolled his eyes. "Could you at least pretend to be a warrior?" he said annoyed to Number 47.

After half an hour Nila sensed them too. "Alright. I will tell Steve that there's someone who could take his position" she said. Vincent had been right about everything. "Oh wait a second…" she hissed. "Is something wrong, Captain?" Harrison asked. "No, nothing is wrong!" but her voice proved her wrong. "_Number 14…Gods, I hate that bastard!" _Suddenly she sensed something familiar. "Oh my! What a nice surprise!" Nila said and smiled. She jumped and met the blow of the warrior who had just arrived.

"You should know it by now. I'll always win!" the woman said smirking. Sparks emitted from the claymores. "I thought I should give it a try" the tall warrior answered. "I have to admit, Anthony, you certainly have gotten stronger." She looked at her comrade. "But so have I." Before Anthony could do anything he was lying on the ground and the tip of Nila's sword rested on his throat. "I've missed that familiar sight" she said and removed the sword.

The Number 27 got up again. "Still a cocky bitch, aren't you?" he asked. Harrison and Vincent looked shocked. How could he dare to talk to the Number 4 like that? Nila laughed silently. "I'm afraid yes. With great power comes great arrogance." "I assume you are torturing lower ranked warriors?" he said and looked at the men behind Nila "So how's the Number 13?"

"He's well, I guess. But I don't know the Number 13 so it's quite hard for me to tell" Nila answered. Anthony looked quite surprised. "You aren't Number 13 anymore?" She nodded. "Don't tell me…!" he said and shook his head "Single-digit, I suppose." "Yes, but nothing spectacular" the woman replied smiling. "That shouldn't surprise you, Anthony" a voice said behind them "Nila was always the superior warrior." Elisha stepped out of the trees. Unlike Nila she was still wearing her armour. Showing the cape of a single-digit the tall warrior.

"You too? Well, I can't say I'm that surprised. You always knew how to kick butt" Anthony answered. Elisha nodded politely. That was everything Anthony would get as a welcome. "Nila, the other warriors have gathered at our main camping place. They are expecting you to put them into their teams" Elisha said softly. "I'm coming" Nila turned her head to Anthony "You can stay here. You'll be on this team."

The two women left the three men. "Why can she decide who is on which team?" Number 27 asked Harrison and Vincent. "Didn't you know?" Harrison said "She's a top-ranking warrior. That's the current Number 4."

Pleased Nila recognized the familiar auras. "Look who we have here, Elisha" she said to her friend silently. The woman with the ponytail nodded. "Raphael" she answered simply. The Number 19 didn't look surprised when he saw the two women. The Number 4 knew all of the other four warriors except one.

"Joel. Nicholas. Good to see that you are still alive" she said politely "I'm glad you look so well." The single digit smiled slightly and Number 11 nodded. "It's good to see you too, Captain" Joel answered "I'm relieved that you have been assigned to this hunt as well." "I agree with, Joel. It is good to know that there is one among the top-ranking who doesn't care just about himself" Nicholas added. Nila smiled and it was an honest smile. "Well, I'm not the only one. This is the Number 5. _Shadow Elisha_. A dear friend of mine" the woman said and pointed at the warrior next to her. Elisha even cracked a smile. A very rare sight. "Nila speaks very highly of you. It takes quite a lot to impress her like that. I'm pleased to meet you."

"It is an honour to meet you, Captain Elisha" Nicholas answered. Joel just bowed his head. "So now we all know each other. It's time to split you into teams" Nila thought about it for some seconds "Nicholas you are with Dauf. Joel with Isley." They nodded, but the white haired woman noticed Joel's worried look.

When they were out of hearing range Elisha asked Nila "Do you think they will survive this?" Nila sighed. "I hope. They've survived hunts with them before. They will survive one more." "I hope you are right about that" Elisha said "If you excuse me, I still have to work out a plan, how I'm going fight with my team." "Go. Don't let me hold you up."

Number 4 moved on to Raphael. "Good to see you" she said to him. The Number 19 answered "I've heard about your promotion. Congratulation." "Thank you, Raphael" she replied smiling. "You are with the Number 3, Dauf." He simply nodded.

"Number 14" she said smiling. The small warrior flinched. Nila could see the scars on his face. The scars that she had given him. "How nice to meet you again! I hope you are better than when we parted" she said with the sweetest voice "But I see that you managed to reattach all of your limbs. Good!" He looked at her. The fear was written into his face. "Timothy, you are in Rigaldo's team" Nila said softly. He left quite fast. Yes, this warrior had nightmares about her, but that was his punishment for what he had done. But Nila would make sure that no one would ever find out, what had happened on this mission.

She went to the last remaining warrior. He was a bit taller than the average and had platinum blond hair. He seemed to feel uncomfortable. "Hello! My name is Nila. Number 4. May I ask for your name and rank?" she said politely. "I'm Kenneth. 23" he answered simply. "Nice to meet you. You are on Isley's team. Please make sure to remember your other team mates well" Nila replied and went away.

While putting on her armour she thought "_Now that that's done we can finally move on. This has taken longer than expected." _She went to the place where the three top-ranking warriors were resting. But when she came closer she realized that they weren't resting at all. "What the hell…?" she said when she saw that Rigaldo and Dauf were fighting against each other. And she could see in their eyes that they would kill each other if they would get the chance.

"What happened?" she asked Isley, who was watching the two men fighting. "They started arguing about something and agreed that the only way to settle it was to fight" he answered. She looked at him unbelieving. "And you didn't even think of stopping them, Number 1?" she asked and felt the anger rising in her chest. "Why should I? If they want to kill each other I won't stop them."

Nila hissed something when she moved her hand to the hilt of her sword. "Dammit! Why am I always assigned with the assholes?" She watched the Number 2 and 3 fighting for some moments. Their fighting styles had similarities with her and Elisha's. Rigaldo was fast and Dauf strong. Two monsters. "_Thanks to the gods I'm the better monster"_ she thought. She took a deep breath and disappeared.

There was an incredibly loud noise when Nila's and Dauf's claymores clashed together. "Huh?" he said and looked at the woman who had stopped his sword from moving. But not only Dauf was surprised. Rigaldo and Isley were amazed too just like the other warriors who had gathered to watch the fight.

Dauf's strength was almost legendary. He wasn't called the _Bonecrusher_ without a reason. His blows were so powerful that the bones of the warriors broke when they tried to parry his attacks. Even Isley and Rigaldo preferred to evade his attacks. But now the Number 4 had stopped one of his attacks and was even now holding against it. And it didn't seem like she was putting much effort into it.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" she asked harsh "We are here to kill Awakened Beings and not other warriors! If you kill each other now those monsters will slaughter more warriors than we can afford. If you really want to kill each other so badly then do it after the battle, but not now!" Her expression darkened. "I might be not the highest ranking warrior here, but I have the necessary power to cut you down if I have to!" and with this words she pushed the Number 3 back. He stumbled a few step backwards.

She put her claymore back into its holster. "All warriors have gathered. We can move on now. We have some Yomas to kill." And as Nila walked through the warriors everyone made frightened a few step backwards.


	18. The Big Battle

_**The Big Battle**_

* * *

"How many, 47?" Nila asked Vincent. Her mood had changed dramatically. She was silent, focused and cold. Number 47 felt that and answered a bit trembling "T-Twelve Awakened Beings. Most of them are…" he blinked a bit surprised. "What is it, Vincent?" Number 4 asked. "Ten of them surely haven't been above the rank of 30. Only two seem to be stronger. Former single digits most likely. But low ones at that."

Elisha stepped next to Nila. "It seems like the "Eye" has been mistaken." "Yes, but I don't think it's his fault. He was probably much further away. Only two miles part us from the Awakened Beings" the white haired woman said unusually serious.

She sighed. "However, now the large number of monsters is far more logical. It seems like the weaker ones have gathered around the two strong Awakened Ones. Most likely they think that their number and their combined strength will protect them" Nila shook her head slightly "Foolish monsters!"

The Number 5 asked Vincent "Are the other teams moving according to the plan?" The young warrior answered "Yes, they have surrounded the Awakened Beings. But…" he hesitated "they are already moving in for the attack." All the lower ranked warriors flinched when they heard how the Number 4 groaned frustrated. "I said wait till everyone is in position. But no! Those bastards don't listen!" Elisha said softly "Calm down, Nila. Your plan will work even if they don't obey your every order."

"I guess your right" she sighed. Nila turned around to the warriors behind her. "Gentlemen, it's time. Stay close to your Captain and use your Yoki only with our permission." She smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

…

* * *

Joel had known that this was going to be a tough battle, but he hadn't expected it to be this…brutal. There were twelve Awakened Beings, which meant that each team had to at least kill two and two teams three. But right now his team was already struggling with the first one. Kenneth had been killed in the first three minutes. The Awakened Being had ripped him literally into half. He and Leon were already covered in bruises and long scratches. The only one who was unhurt was Isley. But he was doing nothing more than the absolute minimum. He defended himself, but not a single time he attacked. Just like the last time Joel had fought with him.

Number 13 got kicked away. "Leon!" he screamed. Joel had to evade some attacks, before he got to his comrade. "Are you still alive?" the single-digit asked. Leon got slowly up. "I think so…JOEL, WATCH OUT!" he yelled suddenly and pushed them both away. The sharp claws of the Awakened Being missed them.

"Shit!" Joel hissed. Two Awakened Beings were attacking now. "Joel?" Leon asked. They were standing back on back. "Leon, what is it?"

"Two Awakened Beings went down. Rigaldo and Dauf decided to finally fight a bit" he answered tense. Joel gripped his sword tighter "I doubt that we will be this lucky with our Captain." Leon smiled. A weird sight in a battle. "Well, I guess your right."

They evaded the attacks of the two Awakened Beings. Joel leaped to the right and cut one of the arms of the Awakened Being off. It screamed and shot his claws towards him. Fortunately the single-digit was able to dodge the attack.

Leon had problems with his opponent. His left arm was bleeding heavily, but he was still fighting with everything he got. Joel jumped and prevented the monster from killing the Number 13.

Suddenly both warriors turned their heads to their left side and even the Awakened Being looked into that direction. The other monster was lying dead on the ground. Isley had killed it. It probably had tried seriously to kill him. "That must be our lucky day" Leon said heavily breathing. "Perhaps" Joel said and looked at the Awakened Being in front of them.

He raised his sword. "Stay right behind me, Leon." Number 13 nodded. The single-digit ran towards the monster closely followed by Leon. Joel jumped and managed to run his blade through the monster's chest. It stumbled a few steps backwards. Leon took the chance and with a cry he beheaded the Awakened Being.

Number 13 landed on the ground and then fell on his knees. "Everything alright, Leon?" Joel asked concerned. He saw that his body was trembling. "I'm afraid not" Number 13 said and his voice sounded strange "The ecstasy…is too great…I can't…resist." The single-digit's eyes widened. He sensed the strong Yoki-flow. "Hey! Hang in there, Leon!" Number 13 raised his sword. "F-four monsters are already down. You'll make it…without me." Suddenly he looked to the west "Wow! And I thought…Isley's aura was impressive. Now I'm...s-sure. You'll…make it." And before Joel could do anything Leon took his own life.

Red blood gushed from the body and some drops landed on his armour. Joel wanted to cry but right now there was now time for grief. If he wanted to bury Leon he had to survive. He gripped his sword and ran to the Awakened Being closest to him.

Surprised the monster realized that half of its leg was gone. It looked at Joel. "You little…" it hissed and its fingers shot towards him. But the single-digit didn't even have to move. Number 28 and Number 27 had cut off its arms before the fingers reached Joel.

"We're sorry for the delay!" Anthony said. "But our Captains thought that the other teams would move according to plan" Harrison added.

"So Nila's here?" Joel asked and there was hope in his eyes. "Oh yeah! She's here!" Harrison answered and evaded one of the monster's attacks. "And she's really, really pissed off!" Anthony said grinning.

"We have to finish this bastard off!" Joel ordered. The men nodded. "With no arms and one leg gone it should be easy!" Number 27 added. Harrison shook his head and sighed. "Buy me some time!" he said to them. "Got it!" Number 28 answered. Anthony simply nodded.

Even though those two had quite low ranks they were able to keep the Awakened Being busy. Joel focused his Yoki in his legs. If he would succeed then five monsters would be dead. Eventually he jumped. It didn't take him long to reach the necessary height. Then he fell. Joel's speed increased dramatically and before the Awakened Being what was going on it was ripped apart by Joel's attack.

"Nice move!" Anthony commented and looked impressed at the dead monster. "Thanks, 27" the single-digit said. Number 28 was simply standing a few meters away and starred into one direction. "Harrison, what are you looking at?" Joel asked surprised. His eyes were wide open. "You've got to see this!" "What do you mea…"but Anthony fell silent again. "Incredible…" Joel whispered.

He had seen Nila in battle before, but that was just beyond anything he had ever seen before. Even thought she fought with a 47 the woman seemed to have not even the slightest problems to kill her opponents. The big Awakened Being screamed furious, but it was useless. With terrifying ease she beheaded it. Six Awakened Beings down.

Without hesitation she moved on to the next monster. Vincent followed her as fast as he could, but his speed was nothing compared to hers. The Awakened Being jumped and wanted to kill the Number 47, however, it didn't get very far. Nila stood suddenly in front of Vincent and with one strong blow the Awakened Being was sliced into half. The seventh monster was dead.

The Number 5 didn't fall back either. Her incredible speed made it nearly impossible for the monster to see her. But not only that. Joel had heard about Elisha's Shadow move. A technique that made her invisible. And so the Awakened Being didn't see its death coming. The monster was chopped into little pieces.

Before Joel could even realize it Elisha had killed another Awakened Being. Its head had been completely crushed. Only three monsters were still alive. Just a few moments after their arrival those two had killed four Awakened Beings.

"We…we should help them" Joel stammered "Some are still alive." Speechless the other men simply nodded.

"I hope you like pain!" Joel heard Nila saying, when she chopped off both of its legs. Not a single drop of blood had stained her or her armour. Her white majestic curls moved wildly,. She looked truly amazing while fighting. Joel shook this thought off. Then without further hesitation he attacked. The monster lost its arm. The single-digit couldn't even turn around, before Nila had killed it.

From one second to the other she was behind him and said softly "Glad to see that you're still alive, _Earthquake Joel._" Her voice was calm. Nila looked at him. "But I see that you are injured. You should stand back. Elisha's team and mine got it covered." "No, I can't just stand by and watch, Captain" Joel answered. A smile appeared on her lips. "Well, I wouldn't expect anything less from a single-digit, but I'm afraid it will be over before you can even raise your sword." And then she was gone.

What she had said turned out to be quite true. While they had been talking Elisha had killed another Awakened Being and now Nila was about to finish the last one. It seemed to be stronger than the rest of the monsters, but it was no match for Nila. She dodged one of its attacks and then she jumped. For a second she was gone, but then the woman appeared behind the monster. A second later the head of the last Awakened Being hit the ground.

"It's over…" Joel sighed relieved and let himself fall to his knees.


	19. The Madness' Cause

**_The Madness' Cause_**

* * *

Nila looked at the destruction. Twelve Awakened Beings had been slaughtered. Their guts and their blood had painted the ground and the rocks purple. The smell was overwhelming. She looked at the warriors. Most of them were injured and covered in their own and the blood of the monsters. Except for the top-ranking warriors. She and Elisha just as Isley, Rigaldo and Dauf looked like there hadn't been a battle at all. Not a single drop of blood had stained their armour. Their skin hadn't even been scratched.

But Nila was quite angry. No, actually she was furious. Silently she counted the remaining warriors. "_15 are still alive" _she thought. A good result actually, but then she took a closer look at the survivors. Her and Elisha's team mates were covered in scratches, but nothing life threatening.

However, Isley's, Rigaldo's and Dauf's team mates looked more dead than alive. They were all badly injured. The Number 7, fortunately a defensive type, had lost his left arm. He was regenerating, but the rest of his body wasn't really in a better shape. Alexander, the Number 6, was lying on the ground. The fabric of his suit was soaked full with his own blood. He was breathing heavily. Nila could only hope that he would make it.

Nicholas didn't look better, but he was a defensive type warrior so regenerating wasn't a big problem for him. It seemed that some monster had bitten parts of his flesh out. She had seen Joel already. He was also injured, not as bad as the rest of them though. But he was more exhausted than anything. He was desperately trying to catch his breath.

Nila walked with her sword in her hand to the corpses of the fallen warriors. She barely knew most of them, she had hated Timothy actually, but seeing them dead next to her feet made her feel so…sad. The Number 4 couldn't describe it. It felt like she had lost close friends.

When she arrived at the corpse of the last warrior her sword almost slipped out of her hand. "Raphael…" she whispered shocked and looked at her dead comrade. His legs and his hips were gone. The pain of his death was still visible on his face. She kneeled down next to him. With trembling fingers she closed his eyes.

The first one of her class to fall in battle. The first great loss. Nila felt that Elisha and Anthony were behind her. None of those three was weeping just silently grieving. The pain Nila felt reminded her of the day when she had killed Andrew. It was the same sadness. The same guilt. If she had been here sooner, Raphael could have survived. All those warriors could have survived. Of course there had been losses, but if she had been here sooner they would have had at least a fair chance. But alone with that kind of Captains…It was a miracle that some had survived this.

"It's time to return to my territory" Rigaldo said and turned around to go away. Isley and Dauf seemed to think that as well and started walking away. But after some moments a voice said sharp and loud "STOP!" The three men didn't stop. Nila stood up and said again "STOP!" Still no reaction.

"ARE YOU FUCKING DEAF? I SAID STOP!" she yelled. Every warrior turned his head to her including the three top-ranking warriors. "And why should we stop?" Isley asked. He looked slightly bored, yet he seemed curious about what she wanted. Nila gripped her sword tighter. "Because we are not finished!" she answered. Her expression was dark.

"What are you talking about?" Rigaldo asked. "I'm talking about that you three are fucking bastard not worthy of your ranks!" she hissed. Some jaws dropped. "How dare yo…" but she didn't let Isley finish. "Shut up! Just shut up! You let those warriors die! You are responsible for their deaths and not the Awakened Beings! You killed three of those monsters. And the rest the other nine. I watched you. You three, who are supposed to be the strongest warriors alive, did nothing but watching your comrades die for your own amusement. You are not better than those Awakened Beings. You are no different!" Nila said. Her voice was calm yet full of anger.

Suddenly she raised her sword. "And just like Yoma you should be slaughtered!" the woman added. Elisha behind her whispered "Nila, what are you doing?" She sounded nervous. Isley raised his eyebrows. "Is this a threat, Number 4, or a challenge?" he asked.

Nila had opened her mouth already to answer, but Elisha stepped in front of her and said "You have to excuse my friend's behaviour. She is exhausted from the fight and she lost a friend too. She is only upset. Nila didn't mean what she said. Don't take her seriously! You have to know that she is mentally unstable. So don't take her seriously."

Isley jerked his shoulders. "This time I'll ignore it, but next time she won't get away." Then he turned around and left just like Rigaldo and Dauf a minute later. For some moments everyone starred at Elisha including Nila. The Number 4's mouth was open.

Then Nila suddenly asked silently and with a dark voice "What in the name of the gods, was that, Elisha?" Number 5 turned around and answered "I just prevented you from getting killed. What the hell were you thinking? You are Number 4! You can't even defeat Dauf!" The white haired woman looked at her. Nila turned around and put her claymore away.

She walked to the injured warriors. "Got to hell, Elisha!" she said.

"What?" the Number 5 asked surprised.

"I said go to hell!"

"Nila, what…"

The woman turned around and answered with a frightening cold voice "Leave, Number 5. Leave now! I thought you were on my side. But that was not the case. You just stabbed me in my back. You even told them to ignore me, because I'm insane. Out of all the warriors I thought you were the only who would never call me like that."

"But Nila…"

"You think that only our ranks define us. Define how strong we are. That's not true. It was never true. But since you love ranks so much…I tell you now as the highest ranking warrior here to go. Leave."

Joel looked at the two women. Elisha looked at Nila confused and hurt, but the Number 4 looked also hurt. She obviously felt betrayed by Elisha and Joel couldn't really blame. No one had expected that the Number 5 would interfere in such a way. The woman with the high ponytail made a step forward.

"Nila, I didn't mean to…"

"Go and report to the organization. I'll stay here to take care of the injured warriors" the Number 4 answered and her voice was listless. Judging form Elisha's face this apathetic voice hurt more than anything.

"Of…of course, Captain. I'll immediately report our success" the Number 5 answered, but she sounded still confused and sad. She disappeared after a few seconds.

Nila went to Joel. Her face was clear of emotions exactly the opposite from what she was feeling inside. Why had Elisha betrayed her like this? Out of all the warriors she knew why had it been Elisha to hurt her like that? Why couldn't she trust her? Why couldn't she trust Nila's abilities? Nila surely would have been able to defeat the three men. She was stronger than her rank indicated. Much stronger. Why couldn't Elisha see that too?

But honestly that wasn't the thing that really had hurt her. If Elisha had only interfered, she would have been angry, but not hurt. But… her best friend had called her insane. Mentally unstable. Nila knew herself that she was one of the crueller warriors and she also knew that other warriors called her insane. But not Elisha. Everyone but Elisha. Obviously she had thought wrong.

She kneeled down next to Joel. "Everything alright, Number 9?" she asked and her voice was friendly again. The man with the spiky hair looked at her for some moments. Eventually he nodded. "I think I'll be alright" Joel answered. She smiled and some of her beautiful white curls fell into her face. "Good!" she replied.

She looked at Nicholas and Michael. The two defensive type warriors had almost finished regenerating. The single-digit's arm looked normal again. She moved on to Number 6. Nila's expression changed again. She looked determined.

"Alexander, please open your eyes" the woman said softly. The badly injured single-digit hesitated but revealed eventually his golden eyes. Veins started spreading across his face and his body.

"You have crossed your limit, Number 6" she stated and her right hand rested already on the hilt of her sword "You know what that means."

His body started to change. "I d…don't want to…die" he said between his heavy breaths. Nila could see the fear in his eyes. He neither wanted to turn into a monster nor to die.

"No one does, Alexander. But it's the only way to prevent you from becoming a danger for all the warriors here" she closed her eyes for a second "You fought very bravely in this battle and you can be proud of yourself for surviving this far."

The Number 6 looked already more like a Yoma than a human. His skin was now dark green and his mouth was full of sharp teeth. His body was pulsating. But the fear was clearly visible in his face. He didn't want to die.

"I am sorry, but it is my duty to take your life, Alexander Number 6" Nila said softly and before he could even blink, his head was lying next to his corpse. "Farewell…" she whispered.

* * *

…

* * *

After three hours only Nila, Michael, Nicholas and Joel were still at the battlefield. The woman was leaning against her claymore. Every warrior had been buried. The silver swords looked beautiful in the moonlight.

Eventually Michael broke the silence. "I'll leave now" he said and got up. He looked at Nila. "Thank you, Captain. I'm sure we would have buried far more warriors if it weren't for you and Elisha" he said and put his claymore into its holster. She smiled faintly. "Thank you. Till the next time" she answered.

Nicholas was standing in front of a claymore. Nila couldn't see the emblem, but she knew that it was Timothy's grave. "Captain?" the Number 11 asked suddenly.

"Yes, Nicholas?" she answered.

"I heard rumours about that you almost killed a lower ranked warrior. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't say almost killed. I knew where his limits were, but yes, it's true" she answered with all honesty. Joel looked a bit worried at Nicholas.

"That warrior was the Number 14, Timothy." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"That is also true. I assume he has told you that."

"No, he hasn't. But he is the only defensive warrior I knew with visible scars on his face and body" the number 11 answered.

"You are very smart, Nicholas" Nila said and crossed her arms behind her head "And the only logical reason for bringing up that subject is that you want to know why."

"You are right, Captain. I would like to know why."

An uncomfortable silence spread between the three warriors. After some minutes Nila stood up and said "Alright. I will tell you why." She looked at the all the grave markers including Timothy's. Actually Nila had sworn herself never to tell anyone about what had driven her to almost maim the Number 14, but today after this battle she felt like sharing this story.

"You should know that I only tell you my reason, because I consider you as my friends" the Number 4 said. Perhaps those men didn't notice, but calling them friends meant something. Nila sat down on a rock and started telling them.

"It was my first Awakened Being hunt as the new Number 4. Since it was only a weak one my only back up was the Number 14, Timothy. Back then I was still more than a trainee than a warrior when I think about it. He seemed to be nice, but of course he was very surprised that the new Number 4 was a woman. He acted very much like James" she sighed silently "The village where the monster was waiting was already very close. It would have taken us half a day tops to get there. However, we had been travelling for quite a while so we rested in one of the woods."

Nila leaned a bit forward, before she continued. "I slept for a while. Something I usually don't do around other warriors. But since there were no Yomas nearby I thought it was a good opportunity to get some sleep. Well, and then…it happened…."

…

_Nila woke up from the pain coming form the back of her head. It took her some moments to realise that she wasn't leaning against her claymore anymore. She was lying on the ground. And with horror she realized that Timothy was on top of her and had nailed her to the ground. He must had thrown her to the ground while she was sleeping._

_Before Nila could open her mouth she felt how he ripped her suit open. In the moment where she saw the look in his eyes she knew what he was going to do. "No…" she whimpered "Please don't…" But her voice was so quiet that she could barely hear herself._

_Nila knew that she was stronger than him. She knew she could get him off and break his bones by doing so, but she was paralyzed. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything, but to close her eyes and wait until it was over. Timothy ripped the suit to shreds. Nila started crying and then Number 14 took what he wanted from her._

...

"He…Timothy raped me…" she said eventually. The shock was written into Nicholas's and Joel's face.

The Number 4 got up again obviously upset from telling this story. This feeling of being helpless was burnt into her memory and she was sure that that event had caused her to turn into the deadly warrior she was now. Nicholas and Joel looked at her. Both of them looked worried and a bit shocked.

"Of course" Nila continued "I didn't let him get away with it that easily. I knew the organization wouldn't punish him. And why should they have? He had broken no rule. From their point of view he had done nothing wrong."

She turned her head away. "Nothing wrong" she scoffed "That bastard…" Nila stopped, when she realized that she was almost crying. She shook her head. No, she couldn't admit a weakness like that in front of them.

"Since no one else would punish him I decided to do it myself. I made sure he would regret it" suddenly she smiled "And honestly I have never heard a warrior screaming this much."

…

_Nila was lying on the ground. She felt…empty. So empty. He…this monster had raped her. She, a mighty Number 4, had been raped by a mere Number 14. The emptiness was replaced by anger and hatred. The woman's Yoki-level rose. She felt how her anger took its form as golden glowing eyes._

_In a split second she had taken her sword and stood in front of Timothy. The small warrior couldn't even scream before she had cut off his legs. The man fell on the ground. "What…" he said and looked at Nila. She walked to his sword, took it and nailed his right arm with it on the ground. He screamed in pain. With her sword she immobilized his other arm._

_Nila looked at him. "So you had your fun" she said bitter. With her right foot she broke his arm. Again he screamed. "Now I have mine. Let's see if I can make you awaken…" and with her bare hands she ripped of his arms._

…

She sighed. "I have no idea how he managed not to awaken. His will was impressive" Nila commented.

"I didn't know that…Timothy was the type to do something like that" Joel said eventually.

"It is not very surprising" Nicholas replied.

"What?" Nila asked.

"It is not uncommon among warriors to be…sexual frustrated. We live a very lone life and the only way to get sexual pleasure is either awakening or raping, since no woman would take a body as disfigured as ours. Awakening is of course not really an option so for most warriors raping women seems to be the only way" Nicholas explained calm.

"Are you defending Timothy?" Nila asked unbelieving.

"Of course not. I am merely explaining that it isn't rare that a warrior rapes a woman."

"That might be true, but that isn't an excuse" Joel answered "We are warriors to protect humans not to rape them. Besides Timothy raped a comrade. Making an already terrible crime even worse!"

"Don't make such fuzz about it, Joel" Nila said and put on her armour "It happened a long time ago. He was punished and now he is dead. Timothy died an honourable death and we shouldn't speak ill of the dead. And…" she took her claymore "not everyone can be as nice as you are, Joel. That counts for you too, Nicholas."

She started walking. "I'll leave now. Greet James for me if you meet him. I would like to meet you again so try to stay alive." And with that the Number 4 disappeared into the darkness.


	20. The New Law

_**The New Law**_

* * *

_Five days later_

Nila stood on the edge of a cliff looking at a small village. Orsay was standing behind her. "What can you sense in there?" her handler asked. The Number 4 remained silent for some moments then she answered "Five Yomas are in there. None of them is particularly strong. However, I think you are more interested in the warrior, who is in the village." The aura was faint. Whoever it was, was hiding his Yoki quite skilfully.

"Yes, that is true. He is a deserter and we want to finally execute him" the man in the black clothing said.

"A deserter? He left the organization, but why?" Nila's voice sounded a bit amused.

"He killed a human and didn't want to take the punishment for that."

"What punishment?"

"The organization has established a new rule. If a human dies by the hands of a warrior, this warrior will be executed. No matter if it was an accident or on purpose."

She raised her eyebrows. "An interesting rule. But which warrior would kill a human on purpose?"

"He has. A simple argument turned into his death sentence."

"Please tell me that it's one of the three top-ranking warriors."

"You should sense that that is not the case" Orsay paused "You really want them to fight so badly?"

"Well, let's just say I wouldn't mind beheading them with my own hands."

"Why can't you get along with them?"

"Because none of them deserves to be this highly ranked. They might be strong, but they are as cruel as Awakened Beings."

"Many warriors say the same about you."

"But I don't let my comrades die in battle."

"We should hurry up or the deserter will get away."

"Of course, Orsay. With whom do I have the pleasure?" Nila asked and looked at the village. The foreign aura was not very strong but not weak. Perhaps someone in the twenties.

"His name is Damian. Number 22." She raised her eyebrows slightly.

"If he is only in the twenties, why did you have problems executing him?"

"Because he is quite skilful at hiding his aura. Even our "Eye" had troubles sensing him and so he could get away. However, your Yoki-reading skills might be limited, but it seems to be next to impossible to hide within your range."

"True enough" she looked at her handler "So what are my orders?"

Orsay answered "Get rid of the fugitive. Ignore the Yoma. The village didn't send a request."

"Alright. Stay in the area. It won't take very long" Nila said. Then she jumped off the cliff.

* * *

…

* * *

Like always the villagers made frightened a few steps backwards when she entered the town. "A Claymore?" a man said unbelieving and stared at her "Now they even turn woman into monsters?" Nila stopped walking and looked at the man. "Who are you calling monster, human?" she asked with her cold voice. The man's jaw dropped and he just stood there frozen in fear.

The Number 4 proceeded walking. She had her aura suppressed. This deserter shouldn't know immediately that such a strong warrior was approaching. Besides, the Yomas shouldn't panic. She wasn't in the mood to explain Orsay why she had killed some Yomas without a request. Eventually she reached the house where he was hiding. It was an inn. Without hesitating she entered the building.

The man at the counter dropped the glass he was holding, when he saw her. She stopped briefly. "I apologize for the mess" Nila said listless. The woman walked up the stairs. "Wha…What mess?" the small man asked confused and frightened. "You'll find out soon enough" she answered and a soft smile spread across her face.

It was silent. The only sound was Nila's clinking armour. She opened a small wooden door. The room behind it was empty. "Such a fool…" she thought and sighed. The claymore missed her head and hit the floor next to her feet. Splinter flew through the air. Nila looked at her attacker. It was a young man with short blond hair. He wore a brown cape and normal clothes. His eyes weren't silver. They were dark blue. No wonder that the "Eye" had had problems sensing him. This deserter had taken suppressant pills. Thank to the gods her reading skills were sharp enough to sense his suppressed Yoki.

She didn't give him another second. She kicked him. He crashed through the window and landed outside. Before the man could get up she stood in front of him.

_What is she doing?_

_She attacks a human?_

_Is it a Yoma?_

_No! Look at the sword he's holding._

_Is he a Claymore too?_

_But his eyes are not silver!_

The man got up. He looked at her for some moments. Then he said calm "I expected them to send a single-digit after me, but not a top-ranking warrior. I thought Steve would take the job."

"You should feel honoured that the organization considers you as important enough to send me" Nila answered.

"Sending the _Hurricane _after me is indeed an honour" the man replied.

The Number 4 raised her eyebrows. "The _Hurricane_? I don't know what you are talking about."

The deserter raised his sword slightly. "You don't know? It's the nickname you have among warriors."

Nila smiled pleased. "I have a nickname? Really? That is indeed flattering. But why exactly _Hurricane_?" She had always wanted a nickname. Actually she was the only one among the single-digits without one. A fact that bothered her to no end.

The man answered "Because you are like a hurricane. You appear out of nowhere and once you started fighting there is no stopping you. And after the battle only destruction and silence is left." She could hear the respect in his voice…and the fear.

"I see. Thank you for telling me. I had no idea that my comrades call me like that." Nila made a step forward and drew her sword.

"But we talked long enough. Damian, Number 22, you have broken the laws of the organization and deserted. By the orders of the organization I must take your head" the woman explained.

The man looked at her determined. "I assume you already know that I won't just let you kill me."

"You mean your weak attempt on killing me earlier? Yes, I've figured out that you won't give up" she answered. She smiled. "However, I doubt that your resistance will make a big difference."

Damian closed his eyes for a second. Then their swords met. While he was trying to push her back she said "Don't take this the wrong way. I have no personal grudge against you. It's just that the organization uses me often as their executor."

"I didn't know that" he answered and tried to take her head. She blocked his attack and pushed him back.

"It's not really common knowledge, because most of the people I tell it die very shortly after that" Nila explained.

Number 22 looked at her. His expression was calm. "So I'm not the first warrior you were ordered to kill?"

"I usually take the job to kill the warriors who have passed their limits. I consider it as my duty to save them" she answered.

"And it's your duty to kill me" Damian said.

Nila simply nodded. "It is and it's time for this to end."

He prepared himself. The woman sighed. "Why do you make it harder than it could be? It could be over so easily. You wouldn't feel a thing."

"I am sorry, but I'm still a warrior. I don't give up" he answered. She saw his determination. There was reasoning with this warrior.

"Foolish…" she said and moved to him.

Her sword moved through his chest and red blood gushed. Damian looked at the claymore in his chest. He…smiled. "I didn't see…that at all" he said and blood dripped from his lips "You are faster than any…Awakened Being I've encountered. As expected from a top-ranking warrior."

"Forgive me, but for betraying the organization you must die" Nila said and moved her sword out of his body. He fell on the ground but he still wasn't dead. He was holding his sword firmly and tried to get up. She heard how he coughed and small blood drops landed on the ground.

"And to guarantee your death your head must fall" and with one swing of her sword she beheaded him. With a hollow noise his head hit the ground.

Nila turned around and walked away. "Please, give him a proper burial. He is dead now so you mustn't fear anything. Use the sword as his grave marker" she told the humans. Suddenly she stopped and said with a sweet voice "By the way there are some Yomas in your village. You should send a request or you all will be slaughtered." Smiling she left the village.


	21. Memories

_**Memories**_

* * *

_Three weeks later_

Elisha had never been a warrior of many words. She preferred to remain silent and never felt the need to fill silence with meaningless babbling. Even when she worked with other warriors on a hunt she barely spoke. But when she said something, it sounded calm, polite and important. Stillness gave her more authority and respect of that she was sure.

However, at the headquarters she spoke even less than usual. The pure presence of the organization was so intense that she always felt uneasy in the stone halls of the organization. For Elisha the headquarters were a place of darkness and despair. It reminded her of the painful transformation, the cruel days of training and the psychological torture she had endured for six years.

Yet her face never bared even the slightest sign of uneasiness, when she was at the headquarters of the organization.

It was raining. The weather fitted her mood. Even though she was soaking wet, she stood calm on the plain in front of the stone buildings. For her, for every warrior, rain was indifferent. By adjusting her body temperature she didn't feel the cold. It was simply there. Nothing more.

The Number 5 was waiting for her handler to come back with her new assignment. Two days ago she had eliminated two Awakened Beings very close to the organization and had reported every detail of the fight to the men of the organization, just like requested. The fight itself had been a matter of minutes. Two low class monsters, which had probably been in the forties, hadn't been a challenge for her at all. The report, however, had taken over half an hour.

Elisha didn't understand why this mission had had any significance to the organization, but she understood even less, why they had wanted such a detailed report. But she was in no place to judge her superiors. If it had been important for them…Fine. She wouldn't question the actions of the organization.

Then her thoughts were interrupted by some trainees fighting each other. The two were making quite some noise while fighting. Their training claymores clashed together over and over again. Elisha's only thoughts were how uncoordinated and sloppy they were fighting, until one of the trainees suddenly said laughing "What's the matter? Already tired?"

The top-ranking warrior's eyes widened slightly after she had heard those words. She had heard them before in the same teasing and arrogant tone. Right here at the headquarters…

…

"_Agh…" the girl groaned when she fell to the ground. Her short, straw blond hair was messy and full of dust, just like the rest of her body. Trembling Elisha tried to get up, but then a foot hit her stomach and she fell on the ground two meters away. Some tears were running down her cheeks, while she sat up. She wiped them away. Suddenly she saw some bloodstains on her sleeve. She was bleeding. The girl tasted the metallic taste of blood. "Ow…" she whimpered silently._

"_What's the matter?" the boy who had kicked her laughed "Already tired?" Her expression darkened when she looked at him. The tall boy had dark blond hair that slightly touched his shoulders. His arrogant grin was broad. The expression in his silver eyes made it clear that he had no intention of her leaving her alone, even after beating her for at least twenty minutes._

"_Richard! Don't you think that's enough?" the smaller boy behind him said. He wore his silver hair as a short ponytail. The tall trainee grinned. "Oh come one, Raphael! This is way more fun than fighting with our other classmates! Besides this is the first girl ever in the organization. Would be rude not to give her a proper welcome, don't you think?" Raphael raised his eyebrows and said "She has been here for over a month now. She had her welcome."_

_Richard sighed. "You're no fun. This is a girl, Raphael! Don't you want to find out, what's so special about her that they made her into a warrior?" he paused and looked at her "Although I haven't noticed anything special yet. Actually she sucks. She's even worse than Sergei." The small boy mumbled silently "You shouldn't mess with her. I don't like…how she feels." Raphael looked briefly at her. For a second Elisha was sure, that there had been…fear in his eyes. Fear? But why in the gods' names should he be afraid?_

"_You're coward!" Richard answered. He turned his head back to her. "Well, I'm not finished yet" he said and raised his hand to proceed beating her. Frightened she covered her face with her arms._

"_S-Stop! STOP!" a voice suddenly said. Surprised Elisha opened her eyes and saw Nila standing in front of her. The small girl was slightly trembling, but her look was determined. Her white curls fell into her face while she was looking at Richard, who was about one and a half heads taller than her._

"_What the hell? What are you doing?" he asked annoyed. It took Nila a moment to answer. "I w-won't let you hurt Elisha again! You will leave her alone!" she answered, but her voice was trembling a bit._

_Richard just burst out laughing, while Elisha looked at Nila completely shocked. How could she be so stupid to get in his way? Like this he would hurt her too._

"_And what are you little girl going to do if I don't leave her alone?" Richard teased still giggling. Nila bit her lip. She hadn't thought about that, it seemed. "I…I…I'll…hit…smash your face!" she answered after a while. The uncertainty didn't really make her threat convincing. Richard just laughed even harder._

"_Seriously! You are quite funny!" he said, while catching his breath "But I think you'll be the one getting her face smashed!" He grinned and raised his hand to hit Nila in the face. Elisha jumped up and shouted "NO!"_

"_What?" said Richard and looked at Nila, who was standing next to his arm trembling but unhurt. "I…missed?" "No, she...dodged!" Elisha thought amazed. Suddenly, while Richard was still wondering about what had happened, Nila clenched her right fist and hit him straight into the face._

_The tall boy hit the ground three meters away. When he got up, Elisha saw that he was covering his nose with his hands. Suddenly she saw that blood dripped from his face to the ground and not just that. Nila had literally shattered his nose. It looked ugly, violet, bloody and deformed._

"_You…You BITCH!" he shouted, while Raphael was helping him up. The small trainee looked quite worried about his friend. Then he took him by his arm and both boys left._

_Elisha looked completely shocked at Nila. The girl with the white curls looked at her right hand. Some of Richard's blood was still on it. "Ni…Nila, you broke his…his nose" she said. "But…but" Nila turned around and the surprised expression on her face was almost comical "I…didn't hit him…hard at all."_

…

The Number 5 bit her lip. Even back then Nila had been there to protect her. She had always been like an older sister. Tougher, stronger and braver than herself. Someone she could count on no matter what. And yet…

The guilt almost overwhelmed her. How could she have said that Nila was mentally unstable? How could she have humiliated her in front of all those warriors? Elisha had wanted to protect her from the three top-ranking warriors, but…what had gotten in to her, to say something like that?

"_I have to find her and apologize to her_" she thought "_Right after this mission._" Finding Nila wouldn't be a big problem, unless she was intentionally hiding her aura, but she usually never did that. But getting the Number 4 to listen to her was a completely different task. Nila was a very proud warrior. She wouldn't let her simply apologize and then forgive her. Regarding that, and only that, she behaved quite like a human.

"Right after this mission…" Elisha said to herself and looked up at the clouded sky, wondering if Nila was alright and how mad she was at her.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long, but don't worry. The story is already finished so I can update the last chapters more regularly.**


	22. Sisters in Arms

_**Sisters in Arms**_

* * *

_Five days later_

The white haired woman woke up and immediately took her sword. Something had disturbed her sleep. Nila focused. There at the borders of her sensing range was something. A Yoki-aura. It didn't get close enough so she wasn't able to tell if it was a warrior, Yoma or Awakened Being. "What the hell are you?" she asked herself and put her armour on.

There shouldn't be an Awakened Being nearby and she was in the middle of her territory so it shouldn't be a warrior. "Perhaps a stray Yoma" Nila said silently. She wasn't sure if she should approach the foreign aura or not. But it was so skilfully avoiding entering her range yet it was close enough to let her sense it. Eventually her curiosity took over and she ran to the aura.

For some moments the aura kept the distance, but then suddenly the aura came closer. "_Seriously? Sorry, but I'm not in the mood…_"Nila thought, when she recognized the aura. She turned around and ran away from it. Slowly the aura was catching up. "_Nuisance!_" The Number 4 released 10 percent of her Yoki and sped up. But despite the fact that Nila was running extremely fast the aura caught up.

"You are being childish" a familiar voice said next to her.

"Don't force me to release more Yoki!" Nila hissed.

"You can release as much Yoki as you want but you'll never be able to match my speed."

"Fine!" the woman stopped "What do you want from me and more importantly why are you in my territory?"

Nila looked at Elisha. She should have known that it had been her. Only she knew exactly how limited her range was. The woman with the pointed ears made a step closer.

"I came here to talk to you. At our last encounter you didn't even let me finish a single sentence" she said and looked at her.

"And why do you want to talk to me? It's not like there would be something left to say" Nila replied. Her voice was again cold as ice.

"Please hear me out, Nila. I know you are upset…"

"Here it comes again. Now you are going to tell me that what you did was only to protect me" the white haired woman scoffed "You never change."

"I said listen to me! I only told them to stop, because they would have killed you!"

"They wouldn't. They couldn't! Do you seriously think that one of them could pose a threat? Dauf might be strong but he is as thick as a tree trunk. I could cut off his head in my sleep. Rigaldo might be smart and fast, but he easily loses it in a fight. He is incredibly hot-tempered. Plus I can predict his movements and overwhelm him regarding strength. Isley's greatest weakness is his arrogance. Not even in his wildest dreams he would expect me to beat him and he doesn't take me seriously. Thanks to you!" She spitted those last words almost into the Number 5's face.

Suddenly Elisha grabbed her arms and almost yelled at her "Do you think I don't know that? Do you seriously think I don't know that we could beat them? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"But why have you…"

"Because I can't stand the thought of losing you!" the Number 5 screamed. It wasn't like Elisha to show so many emotions. But that made her outburst even more intense.

"You are all I have! You, Nila, are my only friend. The only one that understands me! You are the only I can trust. I only survived so far because of you! You were the one that encouraged and protected me since the day we lost everything! You are my comrade! You are my friend! You are my sister! If you would die, I wouldn't survive another day! I know you can kill them! I know you are stronger! But please don't push it! Don't provoke them! Many strong warriors died because of bad luck and not because their opponents were stronger. Please, don't encourage them! If you want to become Number 1 then wait till they cross their limits and then kill them! But please don't provoke them!"

The Number 5 looked like she would burst into tears at any moment now. Nila looked at her softly. Her anger vanished. "Elisha, I promise you I won't die so easily. I'm the Number 4. Who could possibly kill me?"

"I, if you should ever do that again" the woman with the high ponytail answered.

"Still…if you ever call me insane again I will make sure that you will regret it" Nila said seriously. The Number 4 meant what she said.

Elisha nodded. "I apologize for that. I shouldn't have called you like that."

"You are lucky that I'm generous today. Otherwise I wouldn't accept your apology."

The Number 5 sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What?" Nila asked.

"It is nothing."

"C'mon tell me. It can't be that…" suddenly Nila grew silent. The Number 4's and Elisha's eyes widened at the same time.

"Wha…What the hell is that?" said Number 5 and her voice was…trembling.

Nila looked to the west. "I…don't…I don't know" she made a step backwards "I don't understand! How can I sense something from this far away? That must be at least four miles away, yet I can sense it."

"It's outside my range too. But Nila….What is that?" and for the first time fear was in the Number 5's voice. She made some step backwards, obviously frightened by the foreign aura.

"I have no idea. It's so…It's…" her eyes widened "This Yoki-aura is…gigantic. So…overwhelming! How is that possible? What…who could that…be?"

Elisha answered "I don't know. But it feels like an Awakened Being" she was silent for a moment "It's beyond anything I have ever sensed."

Nila's body started to tremble, when she recognized with horror that this aura wasn't really foreign for her. And for the first time in her life since she had faced the awakened Number 4, Warren, Nila was afraid. She was truly and utterly afraid of that monster that had just awakened.

"It's Is…" she started quietly, but her voice broke off." Elisha looked at her unbelieving.

"You know who that is?" she asked.

"It's…Isley. That is Isley. He awakened…" the woman whispered.

"Isley? Isley awakened?" Elisha said shocked "B-But why? How could that be? How could he become such…a monster?"

Nila clenched her fist. "We mustn't forget that he is…was the Number 1. He was unchallenged, even though Rigaldo might think about that otherwise. It's not surprising that his awakened form is powerful…But this? This amount of power is insane!"

"This is beyond us…" Elisha said and starred into the direction where the Yoki was coming from.

"Far beyond us" Nila admitted and felt how her body screamed to run. She took the Number 5 by the hand and pulled her with her.

"We have to go! We have to run, before this monster senses us!" she ordered and started running as fast as she could, closely followed by her friend.

"But where to?" Elisha asked. She was trembling just like Nila.

"To the organization! We have to report that Isley awakened! They have to know!"

"Nila…?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm…afraid. It feels strange after all this time to be afraid again." The Number 4 understood her perfectly.

"I'm scared too, Elisha" she answered "Very scared."

Both warriors sped up.

"Nila…It feels like back then" the Number 5 whispered.

"What feels like back then?"

"I'm afraid and I can't do anything about it. There is this strong monster and I'm completely helpless…" The woman looked like a frightened child. Nila squeezed her hand softly.

"No, it's not like back then! We are not helpless, Elisha! We might not be able to kill him, but we can run away. For that we are fast enough! Besides…" the Number 4 tried to smile "Isley must be very hungry and I doubt that he wants to eat the spoiled flesh of a warrior. The Awakened Beings always tell us how awful we taste."

Elisha looked at her seriously. "But they tell us too that our screams are most entertaining for us."

"Would you please stop? I'm not afraid of Awakened Beings and I'm not planning to be afraid now!"

"But you said that you are scared too."

"I know. However, I was afraid of Warren too, yet I fought against him, although I was sure that I would die. We have the same situation now."

"Nila, this is not the same situation! Isley awakened! _Silver King _Isley, the Number 1, awakened!" Elisha's look pierced through her "Nila, this could be the end of the organization!"


	23. The Last Stand

**So I hope you enjoyed reading this far, because we're almost at the end of the story. It makes me a bit sad, but I'm also proud that I really finished it.**

**Thanks for reading and the nice reviews!**

**And now enjoy the end of **_**Hurricane and Shadow**_**.**

* * *

_**The Last Stand**_

Nila and Elisha were still running. The fear made them fast, but not fast enough for them. How could you possibly get away from that thing fast enough? Nila cursed herself for being the strong one. Why couldn't her asset be speed as well? Both couldn't release more Yoki. They were afraid that Isley might sense them.

After a while they noticed that Isley's aura was changing. He started to…move.

"Oh dear gods! No! NO!" Elisha said and shook her head "NO! NO! NO!" Her voice was hysterical.

Nila just silently accepted that fate wasn't on her side today. Isley had started to move towards them. And he caught up quickly.

"NO! Why does he do that? He couldn't have sensed us! We are far enough away. No, please don't be following us!" the Number 5 begged. Nila saw the panic in her eyes.

She focused on the aura. After some seconds she was sure, that Isley wasn't moving by accident into their direction. He was following them. His speed was insane. Nila felt how the panic started to take over her body. She couldn't think anymore. She was too afraid. Her heart was bursting inside her chest. They would die! Both of them were going to die!

Elisha's voice brought her back to her senses. "Nila! He…is…He is following us!" she said and the Number 4 saw that she was crying out of fear "What…What can we do? Nila, what shall we do?" The woman knew that her friend was greatly afraid of dying and the same counted for her as well. But what could they possibly do? This monster was so much stronger than them. So much stronger…and so fast. He had almost caught up. They were too slow. They were running as fast as they could but they were simply too slow.

And suddenly it occurred to Nila. No, they weren't running as fast as they could…at least not both of them. It was the only chance…

"Elisha, I want you to listen to me and under no circumstances you are allowed to interrupt me or to question my plan" she said and her voice had found its old strength again.

The Number 5 nodded.

"Elisha, I want you to run as fast as you can. I want you to run and not to stop until you have reached the Headquarters. You…" Nila took a deep breath "…You are the only one of us capable of running away from that thing. You are the fastest warrior alive no matter what they say about Rigaldo."

"Nila, what the hell…"

"I want you to release as much Yoki as you can and then to run. Use your Shadow move and stay invisible. And now comes the most important part." The Number 4 squeezed Elisha's hand again.

"I'm going to stay and keep that bastard entertained."

"NO, NILA! You can't…"

"Listen! I'm going to stay here and fight! You will not stop running until you have reached the Headquarters! You won't turn back! You won't stop! Because as long as I can sense you running I will try my best to stay alive. BUT if you should try to come back or try to pull me with you I will simply stand still and let him kill me."

Elisha shook her head and said crying "No! Please, don't Nila!"

"Do you hear me? If you do anything but running away I will die! If you don't follow my orders I will let myself be killed! As long as you keep running I will try to survive and to escape him eventually. Do you understand?" It was a lie. There was no way Nila could get away. But she had to convince Elisha to go. To save her own life. Awakened Beings were easily bored. If she could hold him up long enough, he would lose the interest in Elisha.

"Nila, please…"

"Do you understand my orders, Number 5?" Nila asked again. If her plan should be successful she had to go now. Isley was dangerously close.

Elisha starred at her. Tears were running down her cheeks and were blown away by the wind. Nila hadn't seen Elisha crying since their training days. And it was painful to see her so sad and afraid.

"I…understand, Number 4. I understood everything" she answered and relieved Nila felt how her Yoki-level rose.

"Thank you, Elisha!" the woman said and cried herself, but those tears only proved how relieved she was.

"Nila, we promised each other to become warriors together. And we both kept our promise. Nila, before I go I want you to know that I was very happy with you. You made me forget the loss of my family. You were my family from that day on. You protected me and made me happy. And no matter what the other warrior think of you and no matter what the organization thinks of you, you are the only warrior that showed me humanity. You are the only one of us warriors who isn't insane. You never stopped being you and for that I want to say thank you" the woman with the ponytail said.

Nila smiled at her. Both women knew that only one of them would survive this day. "Elisha, you kept me from giving in to the Yoma inside of me. You are the one who was never afraid of me, who always loved me no matter what I had done. Elisha, with you being a warrior made me happier than I ever was as a human." And the Number 5 cried even a bit harder when she heard those last words, which meant more than anything Nila could have said.

The Number 4 looked at her. "And now go, Elisha. You have to go now. Run. That's the only thing I ask of you. Run and don't turn back" she squeezed her hand for the last time "I'll meet you later at the Headquarters."

Elisha looked at her for an endless moment. "You are a terrible liar, _Hurricane Nila._"

"I would never lie to you, _Shadow Elisha._"

"Yes, you would" Elisha gave Nila a final smile "I'll see at the Headquarters."

"Farewell, my dearest friend" and with that words Nila let go of her hand.

The Number 4 stopped and watched how Elisha, the only person in the world she really truly loved, ran into safety.

…

"It's time" Nila said to herself and turned around. It would take Isley less than two minutes to get here. With her left hand she removed her shoulder armour. It fell to the ground with a hollow noise. Her cape would only get in the way. The woman made some steps forward. She gripped her sword tighter. If she would die today, she would do it at least with some dignity.

Elisha had already left her range. Her speed had been incredible. Nila was sure that she would make it.

Eventually she heard him coming closer. He wasn't in his awakened form. So she had at least one point in her favour. "If there are gods above us, please help Elisha. And please give me the strength to get through this. Please let me forget my fear! Please let me die an honourable death!" she prayed silently. The Number 4 closed her eyes and when she opened it she saw Isley standing in front of her.

He didn't look really different. His hair was still silvery white and his expression hadn't changed. Only his eyes had lost their silver colour. They were brown. The former Number 1 looked very human, but the all the Yoki coming from his body screamed monster. He didn't wear any clothes and he wasn't carrying a sword either. A fresh Awakened Being.

"Good afternoon, Isley!" Nila said politely "What did I do to deserve the honour of meeting you so shortly after your awakening?" She had stopped her body from trembling. Her old killer instinct had taken over now.

"You were in the area. I thought it would be rude not to say hello" he answered. His voice wasn't dangerous or threatening. It sounded like he was an old friend of hers.

"Oh my, how lucky I am these days. But I have to say that I am a bit surprised. I thought you would go looking for some humans to satisfy your newly awakened appetite." Nila was quite surprised how casual her voice sounded.

"I will find the time for that. But I'm still worked up from my fight, so I'm not in the mood for eating…at least not right now" he answered.

Nila raised her eyebrows. "Fight? You awakened in a fight?"

"Well, more or less. I did it because I wanted to fight Rigaldo and Dauf."

"You fought against each other and awakened?" she asked. Great two other powerful Awakened Beings.

"I'm afraid so. We wanted to settle the Number 1 spot once and for all."

"How rude of you not to invite me!" Nila replied "I would have liked that spot as well."

"I am sorry. But it was something just between the three of us. However, now that we three awakened you are the new Number 1."

"You are right. That does make me Number 1, but I really wanted to take this position, while you three were warriors. Like this it's almost like cheating. For me that doesn't really count."

"If you think that way, we could settle it with a fight" Isley suggested.

"Would you please stop pretending that you didn't come here to kill me? I'm tired of this game. You came for a fight. So let's start this nuisance and get it over with" Nila answered. She looked at him fierce.

"You are a very impatient woman, aren't you?"

"I just don't intend wasting time with talking. We both know what is going to happen" she raised her sword "Even though I thought it would happen otherwise this fight is overdue."

Isley smiled. "So do you still think that you can defeat me?"

Nila chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous! There's no way I could win this battle, unless I would awaken myself, but for me that is not an option. I plan on dying with a human mind."

"Then why do you even try?" he asked.

"Because I want to at least force you into your awakened form" she answered calm.

He tilted his head and then he smiled. "If you can accomplish that I'll admit that you are stronger than I thought. But I doubt it."

"I'm sorry, but even though I can't beat you" Nila pointed with her sword at him "I am strong enough to do that. You shouldn't be so cocky! You are not invincible. Perhaps unbeatable but your blood will flow as well."

"Good. Let's see how strong you really are" he said. Wind occurred while Nila was releasing her Yoki. "It's been a long since I released so much of my Yoki. It feels nice…Refreshing…" Her eye colour changed. Then her face was disfigured by veins and her teeth became pointed. Blue light flashed. "This should be enough for now…" Nila stated and jumped into the battle that was already lost.

Nila let out a cry when she attacked Isley. He looked at her and evaded her attack with ease. Her arm moved with insane speed and cut everything nearby, but Isley. Rocks, trees and other plants were destroyed, but Nila's claymore never slowed down. She had to give everything. She had to.

Eventually Isley kicked the woman. Nila crashed through several trees. She tasted the blood in her mouth and a burning pain hit her. It had been quite some time since she had experienced physical pain. A split second after she had gotten up Isley was behind her. Nila blocked his attack. No! She wouldn't die so easily.

"You are already better than, Dauf" Isley commented, while she did everything she could to hurt him "How sad that an Awakened Being can be this weak."

"Oh, I bet he's not weak. I'm simply extraordinary strong" the woman answered.

She saw the next strike coming, evaded and managed to cut his right leg. A single drop of purple blood dripped from it before the cut closed again. "I see now that 30 percent won't be enough" she said and blocked his attack "50 will suffice."

A sudden burst of Yoki lightened the dark forest. Nila felt how her muscles grew. How her speed and strength increased. But she also felt how the desire grew to give in to the rush, to just let the Yoma side take over.

Isley looked at her surprised. "You can go to 50 without awakening? I must say that this is impressive."

"How flattering" Nila replied and leaped forward. Now Isley seemed to struggle a little bit. He hadn't expected that her power would have increased so much. While Nila was attacking she felt how scratches appeared on her arms and legs. "Shit! Not fast enough!" she thought and released five percent more.

Finally her sword moved through his flesh and his bones. His left arm fell to the ground. "Hmpf…When I think about it, you are quite annoying" he said and tried to crush her skull. But Nila managed to dodge the attack and before his arm could regenerate, she cut off his entire left shoulder.

His right arm shot towards her. She jumped backwards. He crushed the ground. Nila leaped out of the cloud of dust and attacked again. She missed, but she was fast enough to evade his strike. "A little bit more and he has to transform" she thought and released 60 percent of her Yoki.

Isley attacked. Nila disappeared and appeared behind him and cut across his back. Purple blood gushed. "Tch…What a nuisance you are! Die…" he said and his right arm formed into a giant claw and tried to smash her. The woman jumped forward. Her sword pushed the claw aside and then she pierced through his shoulder. Nila tried to cut of his head, but he jumped away just in time.

He was already regenerating when he said "I'll admit it, you are the strongest warrior alive. However, you are not going to leave alive." A flash of light dazzled Nila when Isley released his Yoki. She felt how his overwhelming power took its gigantic from.

The white haired woman had never seen an Awakened Being of this size. He was at least ten meters tall. Nila had to think of a centaur when she looked at Isley's awakened form. His upper body looked human, but the rest looked like the body of a horse. She starred at her opponent. Nila knew that she was terribly outmatched.

She released 75 percent of her Yoki. Now she was dangerously close to her limit. So close to becoming the monster she despised so much. And the urge to give in was strong. So incredibly strong and so tempting… A voice started whispering in her head. "_Just give in. Everything will be alright if you awaken. There will be no pain…No worries…You will be able to kill him. To crush him like you always wanted to. You will be able to rip him apart to make him beg for mercy. Just give in and everything will be alright…" _"No!" Nila thought "NO! I mustn't awaken! I mustn't! I have to stay human! Elisha would never forgive me, if I awakened."

Isley's arm had taken the form of a bow and was now aiming with multiple arrows at her. Nila jumped before the first arrow was released. The woman could evade the first few, but then…

"Ahh..." Three arrows pierced through her stomach and nailed her on the ground. Blood spread from her mouth. The woman screamed in pain. Nila couldn't move anymore. She had been defeated…For the first time in her entire life Nila had lost a fight. But… she had lost this battle before it had even started. The difference in power was just too great.

The pain spread burning from her stomach to her entire body. Crimson blood was flowing to the ground beneath her. It hurt so much! So much! It burned like fire! The three arrows had pierced through her guts. Breathing was getting harder and even the smallest movement increased the pain.

"You fought bravely, but it was useless" Isley said and was already aiming with an arrow at her again. He was preparing the finishing strike. Nila looked at him. And suddenly she smiled.

"Just shut up, Isley, and finish it! We both know that you don't mean what you say" she answered.

"Conceited till the very end."

"We'll meet again in hell!" Nila replied and saw how he released the arrow.

In her final moments the world seemed to slow down. The woman saw how the arrow was slowly coming closer. And Nila thought of the people she would leave behind. All the people she would have liked to say goodbye.

Anthony…

James…

Nicholas…

Joel…

Elisha…

All those warriors, even though she had met some of them only briefly, had been a part of her life. They had been her friends. Her comrades. And Elisha had been her family. To be honest Nila had forgotten the faces of her parents and her grandparents. Elisha had been everything she had ever needed. Now, in her final moments, the memory of her best friend was enough to let her smile one more time.

And then the arrow pierced through her chest. Crimson blood gushed and with one final scream _Hurricane Nila_, Number 4 of the organization and second female warrior ever created, died.


	24. Report and Epilogue

Report regarding the latest events

* * *

The Numbers 1 to 3 have awakened. According to the "Eye" Isley has become an Awakened Being that cannot be killed with our current resources. Further research on creating a warrior that is able to kill him is recommended.

But the awakening of the former Number 1 has been a breakthrough for our research. His awakened form is strong enough to conquer even the awakened forms of the dragon kin. If we would find a way to create a controllable monster of this calibre our problems concerning the war could be solved. However, there is still the question if every Number 1 transforms into such a strong Awakened Being or if Isley's new strength was an exception.

He has moved north. To avoid a conflict and losing more warriors than necessary we abandon the territories in the high north. The towns there have already caused us problems so finding an excuse for our actions shouldn't be a problem.

Rigaldo seems to have also moved into the north, while Dauf has been seen in the west. Both of them are extraordinary strong Awakened Beings, but we should be able to kill them if necessary. We will let them be for the moment.

The Number 4 has been killed in a fight with Isley. A most unfortunate development. Her strength had already surpassed Isley's and even our new candidate for the Number 1 spot, a young female warrior named Riful, will most likely never be able to reach her level of skill. Her body, however, has proven to be a very interesting research object. Dae is currently investigating her corpse. He says that her body will be able to help us on our research.

The Number 5's dead body was found a week ago. Her body bared no signs of a fight, but her head was cut off. The cut was clean and straight so we assume that another warrior has killed her or that she took her own life. It's highly unlikely that we will ever find out, but our first two female warriors have taught us that we cannot rely on male warriors anymore.

Men awaken too fast and easily while female warriors can go up to 80 percent without awakening. We have already enough female warriors to replace the men. They are all still very young, but we cannot wait any longer. We will replace the men slowly to avoid a mass awakening. The ranks from 1 to 5 won't be filled until all men are either dead or awakened.

However, we have already candidates for those positions. Riful, as mentioned above, has the necessary power to be our new Number 1. She is still barely more than a child so manipulating and controlling her should be easier than with Isley. Sistina shows also great potential and should be a good replacement for Rigaldo. Edith will take Dauf's rank, but she should be treated carefully. She is very hot-tempered. Rhea is our candidate for the Number 4 spot. She shows great sensing skills and should be suitable to be our new "Eye" once Steve is disposed of. Our new Number 5 will be Daphne. Unlike our other female warriors she seems to have great problems with dealing with humans. She should be watched carefully.

Report End.

* * *

**And so ends the story of the Hurricane and the Shadow…**

**I'm really proud of myself for finishing it.**

**Of course it's not perfect. There are some plot holes for example that Chronos and Lars awakened and in my story they don't even exist or that Isley was the last one of the single digits to awaken. In my defence I started writing this way before chapter 125.5 was published and the last few chapters really threw things in I hadn't expected. **

**And maybe some of you didn't like the fact that I portrayed Nila and Elisha as so incredibly strong. But in my opinion strong warriors tell the more interesting stories and besides nine out of ten times the weak Claymores die, so I had to make them strong. **

**Nevertheless, I like how this story turned out and I hope you did too!**

**Thanks for reading and the nice and encouraging reviews! 3  
**


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